New Elpis
by ChiefD3m0n1c
Summary: The Crimson Raiders' war with Maliwan has ended, but more stirs above Pandora. Follow the new generation of Vault Hunters as they travel to Elpis to start a new path for the Crimson Raiders, but get dragged into something much different. Collaboration with Dr. Archangel and cmech54. Rated M for the usual Borderlands stuff.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hello faithful readers! I'm here with another collaboration piece with Dr. Archangel and cmech54! New Pandora's sequel… New Elpis!

Chapter 1: Getting Set

Angel's alarm started blaring, the young Siren extremely excited for her day today. Angel shot up out of bed and turned her alarm off, immediately grabbing her clothes for the day. Today was the day she was going off to Elpis to start her work for the Crimson Raiders. It was originally spun to them as a punishment for getting involved in the Crimson Raiders' war with Maliwan. In the end, it was actually her and her friends, the kids, who were key in bringing the war to an end.

Let's start from the beginning, Angel is the child of Maya and Zer0, two of the Vault Hunters that stopped Handsome Jack. She was trained as an assassin by her father, and tutored by her mother when her powers came to fruition. Her two best friends are Patrick, the son of Krieg and Patricia Tannis, and Justin, son of Gaige and Axton. One day, the three of them went into the Fridge and found a group of four men that could harness the elements of Pandora. The four men were actually an experiment by Maliwan, and they were meant to be kept secret, so Angel and her friends had to disappear.

Luckily, a new friend showed up to save them, Nickoli Vladof, the cyborg super soldier and son of the Vladof founder. With his help, as well as the help of Zver, Nickoli's pet badass stalker and best friend, all of them were able to escape. That is, until Maliwan attacked Crimson City and abducted the kids, taking them to a space station over Pandora. There, Angel met her fearsome foe, Dr. Harloc, who only had one job: create an artificial Siren. Nickoli, Patrick and Justin escaped the clutches of Maliwan, finding two unlikely allies.

The first, a girl by the name of Lynn, who was able to harness all four of the Pandoran elements, and Z-12, a fully functioning clone of Zer0 the assassin. With their combined abilities, the group was able to rescue Angel and return to Crimson City, while at the same time blowing up the Maliwan space station. From there, Maliwan openly declared war against the Crimson Raiders. It wasn't until Angel and Z-12 were abducted by an old adversary of Zer0 that turned everything into an actual war. N1ne, brother of E1ght, had returned and was part of Maliwan, being the founder of Project Assassin, the project that created clones of Zer0.

While captured, Angel and Z-12 learned that Z-12 had escaped only to join the assassins in their assault against Crimson City. After their escape, Maliwan started the war by sending an army to Crimson City made up of soldiers, drones and of course; assassin clones. While the war raged, the kids initiated their own plan to assassinate the Maliwan leaders. This plan, of course, failed since it was all a trap set up by the people they planned to assassinate. During the trap, Z-12 was seriously injured and Angel on the verge of losing herself to her Siren charged emotions.

Thanks to Lynn, Nickoli and Zver, they were able to rescue the two assassin children before any more damage. Upon return, Z-12 was admitted to a hospital and was saved, but his injuries severed his spinal cord and inhibited his ability to walk. Thankfully, Zer0's old ally, Wade Wilson, was able to give Z-12 a fraction of his healing ability, returning his ability to walk. After that, Dr. Harloc hacked into the ECHO frequency, showing a feed of her shooting Lady Maliwan and delivering a code that activated the chips in the clones' heads, turning them against anything that moved, even Maliwan. Lilith attempted to execute Z-12 to prevent him from turning on them, but Angel stopped her since Z-12 wasn't turning on them. Once the situation was resolved, Z-12 stole his father's helmet and Wade's personal teleporter and went to the battlefield to deal with his clone brothers.

Angel went after brother, only to find him amongst the bodies of the clones with two bricks of C4 strapped to him with detonator in hand. She was able to stop him and return him to his family, where he was reminded about his family and those who care about him. Once the situation was resolved, Zer0 presented an idea to Commander Lilith, a final assault against Maliwan. Once there, Angel, Lilith, Maya and Lynn went after Dr. Harloc while Zer0 and Z-12 went after N1ne. Zer0 and Z-12 faced their rival and threw everything they had at him, stopping him in the end.

Before his demise, N1ne hinted at there being more clones, but Zer0 killed him before he could say anymore. In the end, Dr. Harloc was successful in creating a Synthetic Siren, and she was the result. The Sirens and Lynn threw everything they had, but it wasn't until Angel unlocked her true potential as a Siren that they were able to defeat and kill Harloc. Everyone returned to the city and celebrated their victory, and the kids were given their punishment for interfering with military affairs: They were to be sent to Elpis to initiate a Crimson Raider outpost there. Which is where, out story begins.

Angel grabbed her clothes for the day, her assassin suit and Disharm0ny helmet, and quickly changed. She grabbed her bag as well as her assassin blade given to her by her father, and ran into the living room to see her brother, Zach (formerly Z-12) sitting at the table eating breakfast in his red and black suit. Angel had customized hers as well, taking a black and blue look to add to her long black hair with a blue streak. Her mother cooked Angel her breakfast, but Angel could see the tear streaks on her face. It was hard for her, seeing her baby girl growing up and leaving the house, as well as her son she had only known for a short time.

Their father was happy that the two were moving out, seeing them grow up and live their lives, but he was just as sad even though he didn't show it. Zer0 sat at the end of the table, reading his paper and drinking his coffee as Angel sat down, Maya bringing her breakfast. Maya gave her daughter her food and then kissed the side of her head, the first of many that were to come. Maya then took her seat next to her daughter, not very hungry since it was a sad day for her. Zer0 could sense this and reached out to her, taking her hand to let her know that it was going to be okay.

Maya did her best to smile, but it was in vain since her next thought was about her babies leaving home. Angel ate her breakfast in a hurry while Zach finished his up, Zer0 taking note of Angel's eagerness.

"Slow down before you choke. Don't be in such a rush to leave home." Zer0 stated as he set his paper down for a sip of his coffee. Angel swallowed the mouthful of food she had, remembering this was a tough time for her parents.

"Sorry, I'm just… really excited to be getting out." Angel replied as she slowed down her eating. Angel took her mother's other hand, assuring Maya like her husband was doing. Maya couldn't help but smile more, happy that her kids were growing up. The breakfast was finished quickly and the family headed out, ready to say goodbye to each other. The family went to the fast travel station and headed for the Dust, the only place where a ship could fly without causing any damage to civilized life. The track was at least a mile or two long and ran on two large rails.

The rocket itself was large, at least as large as a cruise ship, and kinda looked like one too, the only difference being there was no large cabin section or deck, just a nearly flat top. The family approached, seeing that the only other ones there were Lilith, Lynn, Nickoli and Zver. Nickoli was the first to spot the family and waved, causing Angel to wave back while her helmet displayed a heart emoji. Angel sped up her walk until she ran into Nickoli's arms, her cyborg boyfriend wrapping her in a hug. The hug was short lived, since Zer0 cleared his throat and he didn't care for Nickoli, but it was natural since Nickoli was dating his daughter.

"Nice to see all of you could make it." Lilith chuckled as she patted Angel's shoulder.

"Sorry, I was holding them up. It's just…" Maya explained as she started to tear up. She threw her arms around her kids, burying their helmet faceplates in her shoulders. Zer0 patted Maya's shoulder to try and calm her down while Lilith sighed and shook her head with a smile. She was kinda going through the same thing, since she'd been watching over Lynn and Nickoli for a while, she felt like… like a mother figure. Lynn rolled her eyes and looked around, seeing the rest of the families heading over to them, Gaige looking teary eyed while Tannis looked relatively calm.

"Needed a moment to gather yourself? Well, join the club of falling apart all over again." Lilith chuckled as the large family gathering occurred. Gaige put her arm around Justin, doing her best to hold herself together, but then falling apart just like Lilith said. Nickoli noted that Tannis closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she put a hand on Patrick's shoulder, the mute bruiser putting a silent hand on his mother's. Lilith stepped to the side of the steps that were on the rocket and made her speech.

"You kids, have done great things for your young age. You helped stop a war that would have ruined peace on Pandora. Granted, it was partially your faults-." Lilith began. All of the kids made joke booing sounds while the parents simply laughed.

"But most of the fault went to Maliwan. Now, as for your punishment, you will be establishing a Crimson Raider outpost on Elpis. Gaige has already sent out scout bots and found an old Dahl communications station that was previously run by a bandit duo known as Red Belly. It's been long since abandoned thanks to a band of mercenaries employed by Jack that cleared the place out. An associate will meet you at Concordia to take you there." Lilith finished after chuckling from her hecklers. Maya and Gaige started to tear up again while Tannis maintained her usual composure.

"So kids, it's time for you to head out on your next adventure." Lilith sighed as she gestured to the stairs. The kids shouldered their bags as their parents said their final goodbyes, no one taking the departure very well. Maya wrapped her arms around her kids, burying their faceplates into her shoulder once again as she started to cry.

"Now remember kids, *sniff* call me when you get set and let me know *sniff* how you're doing. And call me whenever you can." Maya reminded them, as she cried slowly falling apart, again. Zach and Angel wrapped their arms around their mother, doing their best to console her and get her to stop crying. Maya finally regained control of herself, but Zer0 knew the second the kids left she would begin crying again. Gaige was in the same position, holding onto Justin for dear life so he wouldn't have to go. Justin was only 15, so letting him out of the nest early was painful for her.

"Come on Gaige, you gotta let him go sometime." Axton sighed as he patted Gaige's shoulder. She slowly let Justin out of her grasp, Justin gasping for air since his mother had such a tight grip on him. She took a few deep breaths before she was finally able to speak.

"Okay, you know the rules. Be on your best behavior, eat healthy and get your exercise." Gaige exclaimed as she started listing things off on her fingers.

"Wear proper eye protection during experiments. Wear the proper gloves when working with live wires." Justin started listing too. Gaige bopped him in the back of the head, causing him to laugh a bit. Axton walked over to Justin and put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a small squeeze.

"Remember kiddo, keep yourself and your weapons clean." Axton reminded.

"Thanks Dad."

"And one more thing, keep an eye on Angel. Her parents still don't 100% trust Nickoli, so I want you to help Zach and keep an eye on the two of them."

"You got it, Dad. And I'll keep working on my Battle Borak."

"That's my boy."

Axton and Justin shook hands, both of them chuckling until Gaige broke down again, wrapping her arms around the both of them. Tannis was busy reading off her notes on Patrick's childhood, something about the proper way to raise a child. Krieg simply walked over and put his hand on Tannis' shoulder, stopping her in the middle of her sentence so she could reword her talk.

"Patrick, my son, what I'm trying to say is… I love you, and you're a very good son. You've done nothing but make your father and I very proud, and we both love you very much." Tannis reworded, making Krieg smile and hooked his arm around her waist. Patrick smiled and wrapped his arms around his parents.

"I love you too, Mom and Dad." Patrick quietly proclaimed. Tannis showed a bit of her own humanity and maternal instincts as she wrapped her arms around her child, resting her chin on his shoulder. Tannis pulled out of the hug as she felt her eyes start to tear up, allowing Krieg to have a moment with his son. He simply patted Patrick's back, the two of them already knowing that everything that needed to be said was already said. Lilith walked over to Lynn and Nickoli, who were having a small conversation between each other.

"Hey, ass pains, I got something for the two of you." Lilith called, gaining the duo's attention.

"Look, I know… things have been rough since you two showed up… but I have to tell you… I wouldn't have changed a thing. The two of you have… I don't know… made the home life that much better." Lilith tried to explain. She was terrible with words and hoped that Nickoli and Lynn understood what she was trying to say. The two shook their heads and hugged Lilith, catching her off guard and surprising her, but she slowly warmed into it. Lilith rested her cheeks on the top of their heads, honestly, not wanting to let them leave. She had grown accustom to their presence in her home and enjoyed having them around.

"We'll miss you, Lil." Lynn sighed. Lynn really liked Lilith, kinda like the older sister that she didn't know she needed. Hell, when Lynn first met Lilith she was arrested and tossed into a cell. But now, now they were so close that it was difficult to leave.

"You're the best." Nickoli added. The first time Nickoli met Lilith, he was honestly intimidated meeting one of the most powerful Sirens in the universe. Then he ended up living with her in order to protect Angel and her friends, but in the end it had become a home to him.

"I love you, kids." Lilith sighed, just wanting the two to know exactly how she felt about them.

"We love you too, Lil." Lynn responded as she pulled away. Nickoli pulled away too, his eyes tearing up just a little bit as he did.

"Now get out of here. You've got the next step of your lives in front of you."

Nickoli and Lynn shouldered their bags and headed to the rocket with Zver on their tails as Patrick and Justin did the same. Zach and Angel were a little more held up as their father wanted to speak with them before they left.

"Before the two of you leave, I just want you both to know that I am very proud of you. Now I want you two to go out there and enjoy yourselves and make your futures." Zer0 exclaimed as he put his hands on their shoulders. The two of them nodded, Zer0 patting their shoulders.

"Now go on. You've got a rocket to catch."

The two gave their father one last hug before boarding the rocket and the parents moving to a safe distance. The inside of the rocket was fairly large with four rows of seats five across, so there was plenty of room for everyone to sit. There was a control panel at the front, but it was all automated so it was there in case of emergencies. Lynn and Zach took the front row while Patrick and Justin sat in the middle while Nickoli and Angel sat in the back and Zver simply bouncing off the walls with excitement. Angel noticed that Zach and Justin would look back at her and Nickoli every once in a while, which was setting off a small red flag.

The lights on the console started to light up and beep as a female voice made an announcement over the internal intercom system.

"Attention passengers, we are about to depart. Ensure that all loose cargo is secured, as well your personal restraints." The female voice exclaimed. Everyone checked their gear and their restraints to ensure that they weren't going to fly out of their seats on take-off. The group felt the thrusters start to fire and the rocket started to move forward. The rocket ran along the track, slowly gaining speed until they reached the incline, the rocket then heading up and propelling itself into the air, the parents watching from a distance as their kids went on with their lives.

O00000O00000O

The rocket ride was relatively short, maybe an hour at the most, and mostly uneventful. The rocket autopilot took over and brought the group to Concordia, Elpis' busiest space port and the group's first stop before heading to the Crisis Scar. The rocket flew to a slow stop, the group going to the chest by the door and readied themselves to meet the associate that Lilith talked about. The door opened, the change in pressure causing a hissing sound as new oxygen rushed into the ship.

"Hellooooo Travelers!" Claptrap greeted as the group exited the ship. Almost all of them groaned, except for Nickoli, who was used to Claptrap's presence, and Patrick, who was almost always silent.

"I've been told that you are the group that is going to take up residence at the old Dahl comms facility in the Crisis Scar!" Claptrap exclaimed. Nickoli stepped forward since he was both a familiar face and someone who could bare Claptrap's presence.

"That's us. We've got some supplies and other things for the new base." Nickoli exclaimed.

"Fantastic! Just get the things out of the cargo hold and we'll be on our way! Oh! And take these!"

Claptrap pulled out several grey triangle shaped boxes from his inventory, each of the kids taking one.

"These are O2 Kits or Oz Kits! They generate a bubble of oxygen around your head so you can breathe when you are in a vacuum environment. No gather your things! We're off to the Crisis Scar!" Claptrap explained as he turned and started rolling. The group was lucky to get a cargo runner to transport the three large shipping containers that were stored in the rocket. Lucky for them, the drive from Concordia to the Crisis Scar was very quick, arriving at the gate almost immediately. Claptrap started working on the control panel to the station, the door eventually opening after a few minutes. The group pressed on, passing through the gate to see the large station that was going to be their home.

There was a large land bridge that had a small garage in front of a large, almost fortress-like, wall with a sign that read "RED BELLY'S GANG". Nickoli jumped off the cargo runner and activated the Oz field generator, enveloping the land bridge with a large oxygen bubble that deactivated the group's Oz Kits. Nickoli and Lynn headed to the station first since they were going to have to practically rewire the entire station for it to be operational once more. The front gate was relatively easy, Patrick, Justin and Zach working together to move the canisters since the cargo runner was too large to fit through the gate. Thanks to zero gravity, the canister movement was pretty simple.

The station was very open at the center with a large wall that went around the station, which seemed kinda pointless in retrospect since it was in a low gravity area. There were two compounds on the ground level, one directly to the right of the entrance and another along the left wall. The group continued on, activating another oxygen generator that covered the open area of the base. Towards the back was an entrance to the rest of the station that also acted as a garage. Just above it were two open rooms that had decrepit bunks and broken down lockers.

The room opened into a walkway that had several more small building structures on it until they made it to the main satellite structure. It was a large dome structure that a massive transmitter on the top of the building. Inside the structure was a large holo-pad that was currently busted since there were several cracks and bullet holes in it. Several computers were placed around the structure, although most of them were busted in the same fashion as the holo-pad.

"Well, this is our home now." Angel sighed as she ran a finger along a computer, collecting a large amount of dust. She couldn't help but think that the place was a wreck, might as well of scraped the place for spare parts.

"This place sucks. It's a junkyard." Justin commented as he poked at something that looked like a red trashcan.

"It just needs some love is all. Once we get to work on it, this place will look good as new." Nickoli commented as he inspected the holo-pad. Nickoli had to agree, the place had some miles on it, but it was far from lost. With a lot of hard work, this station could easily be a good outpost for the Crimson Raiders, as well as their home.

"Well, our first job should be to clean up. So we'd better get to work since it's going to take some time with just the six of us." Lynn groaned as she leaned against a busted computer console. Almost on cue, Claptrap rolled into the soon to be command center with news.

"Children! Have you not opened the canisters yet?" Claptrap questioned.

"No, we haven't. Is it going to help?"

"Boy will it! Follow me!"

The group begrudgingly followed Claptrap to the courtyard where the canisters were currently being stored. Claptrap rolled to the canister with a large white 3 on the side and opened it up, revealing everyone's worst nightmare; more Claptrap units. There were 10 of them in varying colors, and all of them activated at the same time… it was the galaxy's greatest annoyance in stereo. All of the new Claptrap units rolled out in two rows, stopping in front of the group as a red one took the lead.

"Greetings traveler! We were recommissioned, thanks to Creator Gaige, to help you return this station into working order!" The new unit exclaimed.

"I don't know if this is a blessing or a curse. At least we have more hands to clean the base up with." Nickoli grumbled. The group and Claptraps scattered and started to clean the base in their own way. Angel and Zach were on wall detail, removing the graffiti that the bandits before left while Lynn and Nickoli focused on the electronics. Patrick worked mostly on the heavy lifting while Justin found a vehicle in the garage. Zver wasn't much help since he seemed more preoccupied with marking his new territory and taking on the local kraggons. It took several hours and a lot of work, but the base was at least clean and didn't look like a Pandoran scrapyard.

Angel scaled the wall with her brother, the two jumping over the end and onto the boardwalk that lined the top of the walls. The two were still trying to figure out how and why the previous occupants would put so much graffiti on the outside of the walls. Angel wiped the sweat from her brow as she looked around, seeing the Claptrap units rolling around and cleaning up the last of the trash when she noticed Nickoli working on one of the control panels. He must've been working hard since he wasn't wearing his jacket or a shirt. Angel leaned on the railing and watched Nickoli work with a smile, taking in the sight of her sweaty boyfriend.

Zach noticed Angel staring at Nickoli and he was starting to feel uncomfortable, so he flicked her ear to get her to stop. Angel snapped out of her day dream and returned to reality, her face turning a deep red since she knew that Zach caught her staring. Zach was about to say something when his stomach growled, practically creating an echo that roused the neighboring kraggons. Angel was about to start laughing at her brother when her own stomach started to growl, getting some roaring responses from the same kraggons.

"I guess we should get something to eat from Concordia." Zach chuckled as he started making his way down.

"Yeah, I'll get some orders from everyone and we'll head out." Angel exclaimed as she followed him.

"Alright, but make sure you actually get something out of Nickoli rather than just staring at him."

"Can't really make any promises."

Angel went over to Nickoli as he pulled out his ECHO and started talking into it.

"Alright, I'm connecting the wires. Stay clear or it's gonna suck." Nickoli warned as he grabbed two wires and brought them together. Angel noticed that the lights around the wall started to flicker before finally coming on.

"So far so good. How are the power levels looking? Can't afford to go over what we can do." Nickoli exclaimed as he closed the panel.

"We're in the green. Now we got lights and running water. Now all we need is cable and we're golden." Lynn responded over the ECHO. Nickoli chuckled and shook his head, turning to head off to his next job but ran into Angel instead. Nickoli nearly jumped three feet out of his skin when he saw Angel just standing behind him.

"Sorry! Force of habit!" Angel immediately apologized. Nickoli leaned against a wall and took several deep breaths to readjust his heart rate.

"What's up Angel?" Nickoli questioned as his heart rate finally returned to a normal rate.

"Zach and I are heading to Concordia to get food. What are you feeling like?"

"I don't know, just something that won't kill me if I look at it."

"Seems simple enough. So have you claimed a room yet?"

Nickoli looked around, trying to figure out who was already living where since he really didn't have a room yet. Zach was living in the room just off the entrance while Lynn was in the compound on the left wall, Patrick and Justin were rooming together in the area above the garage.

"Not yet. What about you?" Nickoli questioned. Nickoli noticed that Angel turned a little pink and started looking at her feet as she answered him.

"Well, I was kinda hoping that, um, we could room… together?" Angel questioned, hoping that Nickoli wouldn't think they were moving too fast. Nickoli turned a little red as he started scratching the back of his head. Sure, the thought of sleeping with Angel in the same bed every night was a very appealing thought, but he was simply nervous.

"Room… together? Uh, sure… sounds great. I know there's a small compound on the walkway. We could probably set up there, if you want." Nickoli answered, putting a wide smile on Angel's face. She threw her arms around him and planted a kiss on his lips, Nickoli wrapping his arms around her waist. They were stuck in that position for some time, at least until Zach found them. The Zer0 clone rolled his eyes and tossed a small rock at them, hitting Nickoli in the back of the head. The two finally broke as Zach walked over to them, slowly shaking his head.

"Good thing I went to everyone else when I saw you head over to Nick. Figured you two would rather eat each other than anything else." Zach grumbled as he leaned against a wall. Nickoli and Angel were both red as they separated, both of them extremely embarrassed from getting caught, for the millionth time.

"I figured out what Nickoli wanted to eat." Angel exclaimed, trying to get some heat off her back.

"I swear if he says you-."

"No! Let's just get the food. Nickoli, can you move my stuff to my room?" Angel questioned as she tried to hide her deep red face. Nickoli gave a thumbs up, also trying to hide his face as Zach moved from the wall. Angel and Zach were about to head out when Justin came running out of the garage covered in oil and other garage liquids.

"Guys! I've got a new vehicle for you! A Stingray!" Justin exclaimed as he handed Zach an ECHO file.

"What the hell is a Stingray?" Zach questioned as he looked at the file.

"It's kinda like a motorcycle, but it has a jump boost rather than a speed boost. The bandits had a busted one in the garage. Just a few tweaks and a digi-scan and you now have a new vehicle."

"Nice work, Big Guy. We're gonna get moving."

Zach and Angel headed out the front gate, Zach plugging in the file and started downloading the new vehicle.

"You know, you should probably talk to Nickoli last when you are gathering information. If not then we don't get any actual information other than what Nick's tongue feels like." Zach joked as they waited. Angel rolled her eyes before she actually responded.

"Very funny. You'd be the same if you had a girlfriend."

"That would require a girl to actually like me."

"I'm sure there is a girl out there for you. What about Lynn? She's nice."

"I don't think I'm what she's looking for."

"What's she looking for?"

Zach looked over at Angel, who had her head cocked to the side the same way a small dog would with a new sound. It took a minute, but it finally clicked in Zach's head on why Angel wasn't getting.

"Um, Angel… Lynn is gay." Zach explained.

"Really? She's gay? Oh… OH… so much makes sense now."

"You really didn't know?"

"No, I just thought she was really friendly with me. A feminine connection."

Zach laughed as the Stingray file finished downloading and the two spawned their Stingrays. The two quickly rode to Concordia and headed to the only place that sold food, the Up Over Bar. It was set up on the second floor of the building, even though the entrance was on the first floor. The place was cut in half with tables on the left half of the building and a dance floor with a DJ duo. The back wall held the bar complete with bar stools and drunks.

Angel and Zach took a spot at the bar and observed the local populous, seeing that it mainly consisted of space ship drivers. Zach spotted three men in black and red military uniforms with a white V and a red star at the center. Angel noticed there was a girl sitting at the end of the bar near the dance floor wearing a black jacket with the hood pulled up so her face was shadowed. A woman finally showed up and got them some drinks while taking their orders. The two were enjoying their drinks and the music when a couple of men walked in, and they didn't look like the friendliest of men.

There were five of them and all of them were wearing space suits with gas masks on, and they were also armed. They almost immediately honed in on Angel, the Siren Assassin already mentally preparing herself for a fight. The lead scav leaned against the bar while the rest positioned themselves around the bar.

"Hello there, darling. What brings you around to our neck of the woods?" The scav flirted, Angel clearly not paying attention to it. She was about to respond when Zach stepped in to get him to back off.

"She's got a boyfriend, ass hat. So I'd back off." Zach warned as he took a sip of his drink. The scav clearly didn't enjoy Zach's interruption, so he stepped up to him with his hand on his pistol.

"You her boyfriend, chump?"

"No, he's much scarier than me. Dude's got laser cannons for arms."

Angel noticed that Zach's comments seemed to gain the attention of the uniformed men in the corner, all three standing up. Angel turned to Zach to warn him about the uniformed men when she saw the lead scav put his pistol to Zach's head. A shit eating grin slowly made its way across Zach's face as he sipped his drink once more.

"Hey DJ! Que the music, will ya?" Zach called out. The two DJs looked at each other and shrugged, then laid down a techno beat that was heavy with bass. Zach quickly pushed the barrel of the pistol away from his face and slammed his drink into the side of the scav's head. Angel quickly moved to the bar and swung her leg, slamming her heel where the bridge of his nose would be. One of the scavs pulled his pistol on Zach, but the assassin clone quickly grabbed his wrist and twisted, forcing him to drop the weapon.

As soon as the pistol hit the ground, Zach delivered a quick strike to the bandit's elbow, snapping his arm. A scav attempted to pull a gun on Angel, but she was just as fast as her brother. She caught the scav's hand before he could get the pistol on her, but she went for mans greatest weakness. She pulled her leg back and delivered a power kick straight to the man's groin, his squeal of pain now 3 octaves higher than what it normally would have been. The last scav clearly saw that the two kids were more than capable enough to handle him, so he decided to turn and run.

Unfortunately, he ran straight into the three uniformed men, the one he ran into reaching up and snapping his neck without blinking. Zach and Angel clearly saw that the three men meant business, and they definitely looked the part. Each of them wore a harness with a Vladof pistol in the holster, all three of them having blonde hair and dark eyes, making them look that much more menacing. All three of them drew their pistols as they approached the assassin duo, the two preparing themselves for a fight to the death.

Luckily, a glass flew and slammed into the left one's head, knocking him off balance. He would have regained his balance, if the next thing to hit him wasn't one of the bar stools that was ripped out of the ground. The man flew back and rolled down the stairs, his companions watching him roll before facing the one who threw the stool. As they turned, the woman Angel noticed did a flying jump kick, her black boots slamming into the middle man's chest and sending him flying. The third man was about to unload his pistol into the woman, but she kicked his legs out from beneath him, his pistol flying from his hand as he hit the ground.

The woman quickly wrapped her legs around the man's neck and started to choke him out. Zach slid over to Angel and watched with extreme fascination.

"Who is she?" Zach questioned.

"I don't know, but she's a badass." Angel questioned as the man finally passed out, the woman releasing him before she killed him.

"Whoever she is, I so pity the man that pressures her into prom sex."

The woman finally stood up, her hood falling down and revealing her face. She had short dark brown hair that was tied back into a short ponytail with green eyes. She had a very beautiful face, she had slightly pale skin with a small pointed chin, giving her face almost a tear drop shape. Angel approached her with Zach right behind her, both of them curious on who their ally was.

"Um, who are you?" Angel questioned, ready for anything.

"And do you have a boyfriend?" Zach questioned as he took his place next to Angel, who rolled her eyes at the question. The woman raised her eyebrow at the two, then shook her head and answered the questions.

"My name is Lydia, and I apologize, but I am not into men." She answered. Angel noticed that she had an accent similar to Nickoli's, only hers was a bit thicker.

"That's just my luck. Anyway, I'm Zach and this is my sister Angel. So what brings you to Elpis?" Zach sighed.

"I'm just… looking for my future. What about you?" Lydia answered.

"Setting up a Crimson Raider outpost in the Crisis Scar."

Angel tapped on Zach's side and motioned for him to step aside, Zach easily understanding what she wanted to do. Angel held up a finger to Lydia, who nodded as the two stepped away to talk in private.

"Whatcha thinking, Sis?" Zach questioned as they went to the opposite side of the bar.

"I'm thinking she should come with us. She can clearly fight and we could always use more hands around the base. What do you think?"

Zach leaned to the side to check out Lydia, who was currently sitting at the bar waiting patiently. Angel was right, Lydia was definitely skilled and they really could use more help around the base.

"Sure, but we should probably run it by Lilith when we get there. After all, we aren't _actually_ part of the Crimson Raiders." Zach reminded as he shrugged. Angel nodded and headed back over to Lydia, who was still waiting patiently.

"I have an offer for you, Lydia. How about you join us?" Angel questioned as she extended a hand of friendship. Lydia looked Angel up and down, then smiled and shook her hand.

"How could I say no? Not like I have anything more important going on." Lydia replied as she shook Angel's hand. Zach gave a small clap, then noticed that some of the bandits as well as the officers started to come back to.

"Um, we should probably get out of here. But let's grab the food first." Zach exclaimed as he grabbed the box that held their orders. The trio headed out, Lydia quickly snatching the Vladof pistol from the ground before they left Concordia. Angel spawned a Moon Zoomy from the vehicle station, which essentially looked like a moon rover with a missile pod on it, so Zach could sit in the turret with the food and Lydia could drive. Angel then got her Stingray and the group headed to the Crisis Scar to introduce their addition to the group. Once they approached the gate, Angel questioned the Claptrap that was placed in charge of the gate, this one a blue color.

"Hey Claptrap, do you know where everyone is?" Angel questioned.

"My current readings say that everyone is in the main command center!" The Claptrap responded with a salute.

"Excellent. Thanks Blue."

The trio headed into the base and were immediately intercepted by Zver, who was covered in ash and minor burns. Zver, even in his current condition, still panted and looked as happy as ever as he ran over to Angel and started to lick her face. Angel laughed and scratched Zver behind his spikes, making the large stalker kick his back leg in joy. Lydia looked to Zach, who seemed like the badass stalker was a normal occurrence.

"Um, why is there a badass stalker at your outpost?" Lydia questioned as she slowly loosened her grip on her pistol. Angel finally stopped scratching Zver and led him to the new addition to the group.

"Lydia, this is Zver, our resident cyborg badass stalker. Zver, this is our new friend, Lydia." Angel introduced, making Lydia a tad uncomfortable.

"Um, hello? Zver?" Lydia greeted as she held out her hand to the stalker. Initially, she thought that Zach and Angel were a pair of scavengers that were doing well for themselves, not two psychopaths that had a badass cyborg stalker for a pet. The stalker sniffed her hand and made a huffing sound before turning and heading deeper into the base.

"He warms up to you. Come on, meet the rest of the group." Zach exclaimed as he started leading Lydia into the base. Lydia's initial thoughts on the base; this place needed work. Granted, it did look better than most abandoned places on Elpis with corpses and graffiti everywhere, so at least the place was cleaned up. Claptraps rolled around and did miscellaneous jobs to help clean up the base. The trio entered the command center, almost everyone mobbing Zach for their food.

Once everyone had their food, Angel decided it was time to introduce everyone.

"Hey guys! We have a new friend. This is Lydia, she's a total badass." Angel introduced as she put her hands on her hips. Everyone waved at their new friend and took turns introducing themselves.

"Lynn."

"Justin."

"Patrick."

"Nickoli."

Lydia raised an eyebrow when Nickoli introduced himself, the young woman walking over to him with intent in her eyes.

"Nickoli? As in, Nickoli Vladof?" Lydia questioned as she approached him. Nickoli immediately took a defensive posture, readying himself for anything that was going to come his way. He also noted that Angel had stepped behind Lydia with her hand on her blade, ready to strike her down if need be.

"I am."

"I have been searching for you for quite some time… I didn't think I'd find you here."

"And why are you looking for me?"

Lydia looked at the ground and took a deep breath before answering his question.

"My full name… is Lydia Vladof… I am your sister." Lydia exclaimed. Everyone was in complete shock that something that big was just dropped before them.

"What!?" Almost everyone barked at the same time.

"What the hell?!" Zack blurted, being the last person to react.

 **A/N:** Well, aren't we off to an explosive start? We've got a new base as well as a new sibling! Special thanks to Dr. Archangel and cmech54 for being the skeleton writers. PM or review for any thoughts comments or concerns. Until next time!

-Chief


	2. Chapter 2: Sister Vladof

Chapter 2: Sister Vladof

Nickoli was in complete shock that this woman he just met was telling him that she was his sister. As far as he knew, he only had his older brother Zakhar as family. Nickoli stumbled back until he planted his rear against the console behind him, doing his best to try and put everything together. Lydia looked down at her feet while everyone else was kinda slack jawed at the news. First Angel found out about her cloned father/ brother, Zach, and now Nickoli had a sibling?

"I'm sorry to have dropped this on you so suddenly." Lydia apologized. She didn't mean to cause her brother any distress with the news, just to let him know that he wasn't alone.

"How… how are you my sister?" Nickoli questioned, trying to figure it out how exactly he had a sister.

"Well, it's a long story." Lydia sighed, preparing herself for her story. "It was about a year after you were born when our father had an affair with one of the scientists he worked with, my mother. Shortly after you left, my mother died under "mysterious circumstances". After that, my only real option for life was to join the Vladof Army, they took me in when no one else would. Once I rose up the ranks, I was given a mission; to find the wanted criminal, Nickoli Vladof. I wasn't sure about all of the information given to me, it didn't add up.

"So, I did some digging and found a family photo… and I learned that we were kin. I also found the experiment notes and what they did to you… and that they were going to do the same to me. After that, I ran… I ran to find my brother." Lydia finished, looking to Nickoli for a response. He took a deep breath and sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair, trying to wrap his mind around the entire story.

"Am I really a wanted criminal? A fugitive?" Nickoli questioned.

"Yes, and I was going to be next." Lydia answered, a tear developing in her eye. Nickoli walked over to Lydia and put a hand on her shoulder, in an attempt to console his new half-sister. Lydia took a deep breath and sighed with a smile on her face, happy that Nickoli was doing his best.

"Hey, don't worry. You're safe with us… Sis." Nickoli assured, putting a smile on Lydia's face. She couldn't help herself, so she threw her arms around her half-brother and hugged him. Nickoli was a little surprised that Lydia embraced him so quickly, but he was happy to have a sibling that was a little closer to his age, so he hugged her back.

"Thank you, Nickoli. I'll do my best to contribute to the team." Lydia thanked as she wiped her eyes off.

"Anything for family. Now we just need to find you a place to stay." Nickoli replied. Lynn walked over to the new siblings with an answer to that.

"She can stay with me. I've got plenty of room in my spot." Lydia replied, happy to help out Nick's new sister.

"Well, that settles that. Now, it's getting pretty late. I suggest all of us call it a night." Nickoli suggested, Justin and Patrick groaning like the kids they were. Everyone cleaned up their mess and started heading to their rooms. Zach stopped Angel, putting his hand on her shoulder as everyone left.

"Angel, I'm going to do you a favor… I'm going to look the other way tonight. Have fun with Nickoli." Zach sighed. He knew he was supposed to be keeping an eye on the two of them as per his parents.

"Thanks Bro, not that I need your approval to do anything with my own boyfriend, but thanks." Angel replied as she rolled her eyes.

"Just… don't make me regret doing this."

"You won't, I promise."

 ***WARNING: The following section contains Nickoli and Angel getting frisky***

Angel patted her brother's arm before she headed to her room with Nickoli, a sly smile on her face. She headed to the small building and opened the door, seeing hers and Nickoli's room for the first time. It wasn't the largest of nicest place, But Nickoli had done some cleaning while she was out in Concordia. It was about 20ft by 20ft with a large bed at the center of the back wall. On the left wall was a work bench with a tool wall, Angel unsure of if it was the same one Nickoli had in his original home in the Fridge.

On the right wall was a large dresser and book shelf. There was a door in the right corner that Angel could only assume led to a bathroom. Nickoli was sitting at his work bench, working on something on his arm. Angel smiled as she snuck up behind him, sliding her arms over his shoulders, putting the back of his head in the center of his chest. Angel looked down and saw Nickoli's deep red face as he quickly finished what he was working on.

He closed his arm and spun around, taking Angel up into his arms and moving her towards the bed, slamming their lips together. The two fell to the bed, Nickoli catching himself before slamming on top of Angel, neither of them breaking contact. The two shifted until they were centered on the bed, Nickoli lying on top of Angel and embracing her as much as he could. He was the first to break contact, attempting to kiss her neck, But Angel's assassin suit kept him from getting to it. Angel let Nickoli go, holding her arms by her head, trying to signal to Nickoli to remove her suit.

"Nickoli, take it off." Angel whispered to him before he started kissing her again. Nickoli moved to her ear and whispered into it. Nickoli lifted himself off, a little wide eyed at Angel's request.

"A-are you sure? I mean… how far… can I take it off?" Nickoli questioned, unsure of how far Angel wanted him to go.

"Completely. You've seen me in my underwear before, it's just a little bit… more."

"Okay, if you're sure."

Nickoli brought up a shaky hand and grabbed the zipper of Angel's suit, then slowly started to pull it down, revealing a sliver of her pale skin. Angel brought her hands down and started to pull her suit off, Nickoli feeling his mouth starting to go slack jawed. She sat up, leaving the back of her suit against the bed while she pulled her arms from the sleeves, revealing the black bra she was wearing as well as the rest of her tattoos. Nickoli leaned forward and started to kiss Angel once more, his hands naturally finding her hips and started to pull the rest of her suit off. He got her suit completely off and tossed it aside, giving Nickoli a close up few of Angel in her underwear.

He could see that her tattoos seemed to originate from the center of her chest, then spread to her left arm and down the left side of her body down to the center of her thigh. She wore a pair of black panties, matching her bra since she had a feeling that her and Nickoli would be getting a tad intimate tonight. Nickoli couldn't help but stare at her until she sat up, grabbing the bottom of his shirt and pulling up. Nickoli raised his arms and allowed Angel to fully remove his shirt, tossing it onto her suit. She lightly touched Nickoli's chest, which was broad and shaved, which only made Angel want him more.

She slowly pushed him until he was on his back, Angel pressing her lips to the center of his chest and working her way down. She made it to his pants and started undoing his belt, pulling it out and dropping it with a thud. Angel nervously brushed some of her hair behind her head, slowly undoing the button on his jeans. She had never been with a man before, at least not like this. She had dated on other guy before, but they never made it past first base.

She knew that Nickoli was the one, so she wanted to be as close to him as she possibly could. She unzipped his pants and slowly started to pull them down, revealing the red and white striped boxers he was wearing. She tossed them aside and slowly crawled up Nickoli's body, positioning herself over her before lying down on top of him. Nickoli brought his arms around her, one arm wrapping around her waist and the other making it to the back of her head. The two began another deep, passionate kiss, the two of them intertwining their tongues and giving each other their taste.

"I love you so much Angel." Nickoli panted, out of breath as he broke contact with Angel.

"I love you too Nickoli." Angel responded, catching her own breath from the kiss. The two of them were both nervous and excited to advance their relationship. Angel decided to advance herself a little bit, sitting up and reaching behind her back, undoing her bra with ease. She slid her bra off and dropped it in the increasing pile of clothing, Nickoli doing his best not to just stare at her chest. Angel was always self-conscious about her chest considering she was nearly flat, just barely filling out a low A-cup.

Her mother was a little more blessed than she was, but she ended up more like her father. She felt her face turn pink as she brushed some more of her hair behind her ear, feeling Nickoli's eyes on her. Nickoli couldn't help himself but stare at Angel's chest, his hands sliding up instinctively to her breasts. He didn't care about the size of Angel's chest, he loved her for her personality… also that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Angel gasped as Nickoli took her into his hands, Nickoli being as gentle as he could with her.

He gently squeezed her, massaging her sensitive flesh with his metal hands, Nickoli feeling the soft skin on his sensors. Nickoli took several deep breaths as he pushed up on them, Angel leaning her head back and letting out a moan. She put her hands on Nickoli's forearms, wanting to feel her skin on his. Nickoli started to move his thumbs back and forth, pushing her erect nipples side to side. Angel started breathing heavy as Nickoli toyed with her, her body starting to warm up against her natural Siren chill.

"Wow Angel, they're so nice." Nickoli complimented as he squeezed a little more, Angel taking a deep breath.

"Are you sure? They're… so small." Angel questioned.

"I don't care if they're small. I care about you."

Nickoli sat up, pressing his lips to the start of her tattoos, sending a deep tingling feeling through her tattoos. Angel wrapped her arms around Nickoli, one arm going down his back while the other made it to the back of his head. She felt his lips leave kiss after kiss on her tattoo, making it start to emit a light glow from her peaked emotions. Nickoli took it up a little bit more, placing his lips against her left nipple, squeezing her breast as he did it.

"Oh Nickoli! That feels… amazing!" Angel moaned, trying to pull Nickoli closer. Her kissed her nipples, switching between the two over and over again, Angel moaning as he did. Nickoli leaned forward, putting Angel on her back. He stopped with her chest and slowly started to kiss her body, making his way lower. He made it to the waistband of her panties when she stopped him.

"Wait… I'm… not ready to go there." Angel exclaimed, running her fingers through Nickoli's hair. Nickoli raised his head, an understanding smile on his face as he slowly slid back up to her.

"Okay Angel. I'll go however far you're comfortable with." Nickoli whispered to her, cupping her cheek with Angel pulling into it. He pulled Angel into a deep kiss, Angel wrapping her arms around his neck. He slid on top of her, feeling her breasts push against his chest.

"I love you Nickoli." Angel exclaimed as she broke the kiss for a moment.

"I love you too Angel. I'd do anything for you." Nickoli responded.

The two started to kiss again, the two remaining in this position for a while before finally separating. The two panted, completely out of break from their contact, Angel placing her hand on his bare chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat. She reached up with her free hand, messing with Nickoli's dark hair as she stared into his eyes. She started to yawn, Nickoli chuckling before commenting.

"Getting tired?" He questioned, lying on his side.

"Just a bit. How about you?" Angel questioned, rolling to face him.

"A little. It's been an eventful day."

"It really has. Well, goodnight Nickoli."

"Goodnight Angel."

Angel rolled so her back was to Nickoli, her cyborg boyfriend pulling the sheet over the both of them. He wrapped an arm around her, almost instinctively gripping one of her breasts as he pressed his chest to her back. Nickoli kissed the back of her head before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

O00000O00000O

Zach was the first to wake up, the assassin sitting up in his bed with a groan, scratching his unkempt hair. He threw on a black shirt that went with his black pajama pants, mostly the same color he wore with just about every article of clothing he wore. Luckily, the Claptraps were able to convert the center building into a kitchen, one that hopefully that wouldn't kill the person who used it first. He walked in, seeing that they also made a dining room to go along with it. Almost all of the kitchen appliances were stacked against the left wall, starting from fridge, counter with toaster, blender and toaster oven, then sink, then dishwasher and finally oven.

The table on the right was long, able to sit ten people with a white tile floor. Zach scratched the back of his head, wondering if making breakfast was worth dying over, but he made his decision and went to the fridge. Luckily, the fridge was filled so he pulled out the stuff he needed to make everything breakfast. He started cooking when Lynn dragged herself in wearing an extra-large green shirt with (hopefully) shorts underneath. She saw that he was cooking breakfast and decided to help, grabbing a few eggs from the carton and started scrambling them.

"How did you sleep?" Zack questioned, grabbing a pan and cooking some ham steaks.

"Alright. Lydia snores like a chainsaw." Lynn responded, pouring the scrambled eggs into a pan.

"You gave the offer."

"I know. So I heard you let Angel room with Nickoli. They're probably banging right now."

"Did you really have to bring it up?"

"Yeah."

Zach flipped the steaks when a thought crossed into his mind. He was a clone of Zer0, and yet he had found Maya, his soulmate, the woman who gave him a daughter and agreed to shelter him. Was there someone out there for him? Or was he going to be alone.

"Hey Lynn, do you think a clone like me could find anyone? You know, that special someone." Zach questioned as he pulled the steaks from the pan.

"I think everyone deserves that special someone, even a clone like you." Lynn responded as she started to flip the eggs, making sure they wouldn't burn. Zach couldn't help but smile, hoping that what she said was true.

"Thanks Lynn, I'd hug you, but-"

Lynn moved the pan and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder with a smile.

"Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I can't hug men."

Zach moved his pan and wrapped his arms around her, enjoying their little moment. The two separated and finished cooking breakfast as Justin, wearing a grey shirt with black pajama pants, Patrick, wearing just grey sweatpants, and Lydia, wearing a black shirt and black basketball shorts, her dark brown hair sticking up in every direction. Zach smirked as he leaned towards Lynn to let her in on something.

"Psst, Lynn. A little hint about our new friend. Lydia is single, and is just your type." Zach whispered, making Lynn glance at Lydia, who was resting her head on her hand. He could see an interested smile slide across her face while she eyed Lydia with a new curiosity.

"Is she now? Thanks Zach." Lynn replied, grabbing her breakfast. The other did as Nickoli and Angel walked in, Angel wearing Nickoli's shirt from yesterday while he just wore his green pajama pants. The two were practically wrapped around each other, Angel pressing herself against Nickoli while he had his arm draped around her. Just about everyone rolled their eyes as the two grabbed their breakfast, Nickoli giving Angel a quick pat on the rear as she bent a bit, his Siren girlfriend giving him a small, playful angry smile at him as he innocently grabbed his breakfast. The two stayed close as everyone gave their opinions.

"Would you two take that outside? I'm trying to eat." Justin grumbled as he poked at his eggs.

"Seriously." Patrick groaned before taking a bite of his steak. Angel stuck out her tongue at the two while Lydia gave the couple a strange look.

"So, the two of you are together?" Lydia questioned as Lynn put a cup of coffee in front of her. Angel cuddled up to Nickoli, who wrapped his arm back around her.

"Yep, we have been for a while." Angel admitted proudly. Zach took his seat at the table next to Angel, clearing his throat so Nickoli knew it was time to keep his hands to himself.

"So Lydia, you know some of the workings around here, correct?" Zach questioned as he took a sip of his own coffee.

"I do. I've been keeping track of movement in hopes of finding Nickoli's trail." Lydia answered.

"Anything from Maliwan?"

"Yes, and why do you want to know?"

"Because I'm a clone of the assassin, Zer0, Angel's father. The remaining clones are in the hands of Maliwan, and we're aiming to get them back."

"Well, there is a train that's going off world tonight. There is a Maliwan container in the OZ section of the train, perhaps that is what you're looking for."

Everyone finished their breakfast, Nickoli stood up, as if to make a group announcement.

"Well everyone, looks like it's time for a train robbery!" Nickoli announced with his hands on his hips, Angel staring at him with loving eyes.

 **A/N:** Here you go everyone! The next installment of New Elpis! And it looks like we've got some fun times ahead. PM or review for any thoughts comments or concerns. Until next time!

-Chief


	3. Chapter 3: Train Robbery

Chapter 3: Train Robbery

Everyone moved through the armory set up just inside the main building gathering their weapons for their heist. The plan was simple: catch the train during refuel, sabotage the controls so the train couldn't leave, grab the clones and get out. Nickoli never used guns, since he had a blaster cannon and assault cannon built into his arms. Angel wore her assassin suit and helmet, her digistruct blade on one hip and a Jakobs revolver on the other. Zer0 had given her a purple quality Jakobs sniper rifle that she carried on her back.

Zack wore his suit and helmet, just like his sister, and his twin katanas on his back. Zer0 let him keep the twin Vladof pistols he "borrowed" during the clone siege, so he wore those on his hips. Lynn opted to use two Maliwan pistols, one incendiary and the other caustic, which she kept on her hips, and two Maliwan SMGs, one shock and the other slag, which she kept on her back. She liked to have some firepower in addition to her innate abilities over the Pandoran elements. Patrick adopted wearing body armor, similar to what the Crimson Raiders normally wore except black and without the helmet, with his baton on his hip and a Bandit shotgun with a Bandit assault rifle on his back.

Justin wore the same type of armor as Patrick, only his was green and wore the helmet. He had his Battle Borak kit on his hip along with a Dahl pistol and a Dahl assault rifle on his back. Lydia was reluctant to take from the armory since she was new to the group and the last thing she wanted to do was be in debt to her brother. After several urges, she took a Vladof assault rifle and a Vladof sniper rifle, true to her blood. While they were arming up, Nickoli and Angel shared a quick kiss for luck and a love filled stare.

Zack couldn't help but take notice and sighed with a hint of jealously since he wanted what they had. Lynn caught his stare and sigh and gave him a quick bonk on the back of the head.

"I promise you buddy, you'll find someone." Lynn assured as she gave him a pat on the shoulder. Zach smiled and nodded in agreement and returned to arming himself. Once the group was armed and ready they headed off to grab a few vehicles for the ride there, leaving Zver and the Claptraps to watch the base while they were gone.

O00000O00000O

On the way to the refueling station, Lydia, Lynn and Patrick borrowed, with every intention of returning, a transport ship to carry the clones. Justin and Nickoli digistructed some Stingrays and gave Angel and Zach a lift. The two assassins easily snuck aboard the train since it wasn't guarded. Much easier to make robbing a train seem pointless when there doesn't seem to be anything of value on it. Angel headed to the front of the train to sabotage the controls while Zach searched for the container that held his clone brethren.

The train was long, so it took a minute before he finally found the container he was looking for. With a bit of skill, and by that I mean he shot the lock on the container, he was able to open it and find that there wasn't a group of clones in it, just a single stasis pod. He slowly approached it and wiped away some of the condensation on the glass to see that there was a woman inside of it. She kinda looked like Angel in figure, very slim but toned. She wore a black, skin tight jump suit that hugged her features, as well as her developed assets that rivaled Maya's. She had pale skin and her hair was a raven black.

Zach continued to inspect the pod, finding a name at the front of the pod near her head; Krystal. Something about the name rang a familiar bell in Zer0's head, but he wasn't able to figure it out since the sound of metal being cut with a blow torch caught his attention. He turned to see that he was correct, someone was cutting into the container using a blow torch. He grabbed the hilts of his blades as the cutting stopped, but he let them go since the quarters were too confined to use them. The cut panel was pulled away and soldiers started to move in, three inside the container with two just outside.

The three inside had assault rifles, but quickly dropped them and pulled out knives with metal knuckles on the handle. The group inside waited for a second before the three soldiers charged Zach. The first one on his left was the first to reach him, so Zach caught his wrist and kneed him in the stomach, then threw him into the middle man and they both crashed into the wall. The third soldier went for a slash, but Zach jumped back to dodge and delivered a quick jab to the soldier's face. The soldier flinched a bit, but didn't let up his swinging assault, attempting to gut Zack.

Zack continued to jump back until he hit the back of the container and the other two joined inside while the two on the floor started getting up. The soldier Zach was currently facing mad the mistake of stabbing when he should have slashed, Zach catching his arm and snapping it at the elbow before grabbing his collar and ramming his head into the container wall. Another soldier charged Zach with two blades ready, but Zach was much faster, ducking under the swings and delivering a nasty uppercut that jarred the soldier. That gave Zach time to step back and deliver a power kick to the soldier's chest, slamming him against the opposite wall of the container. The next soldier ignored the blade and went for his pistol since Zach was away from the pod and that seemed to be their objective.

Zach thought fast, grabbing a blade from the floor and throwing it with deadly accuracy, catching the soldier in the forearm and pinning it to his stomach. Zach charged and slammed his fist into the soldier's face, dropping him like a sack of rocks. The last toe were finally on their feet and charged Zach at the same time, the clone smirking beneath his helmet. The first soldier swung his blade, allowing Zach to duck under and deliver a dirty shot to his manhood. While he was incapacitated, Zach tossed him aside and caught the other soldier's arm, Zach taking it old school and head butting the soldier, smashing his nose into a fountain of blood.

Zach then yanked his arm and threw him over his shoulder and slammed him into the first soldier, taking them both out. After the scuffle, Zach rolled his shoulders and started popping his knuckles as Angel entered the container. She couldn't help but comment as she looked around at the scene.

"Show off."

"Love you too, Sis." Zach chuckled as he went back to the pod. Angel joined him and looked at the woman inside.

"Is this it?" Angel questioned since she figured they would be finding a container of clones, not a stasis pod.

"Apparently. I saw the insignias on the soldiers, Vladof."

"What does Vladof want with this woman? Why did N1ne have this woman?"

"Good questions. Maybe she can tell us once we're off this train."

Zach and Angel signaled the rest of the team, Justin and Nickoli taking up security while the others pulled the transport ship to the side. Patrick and Lydia started to remove the stasis pod via the hole Vladof made when Patrick came over the comms.

"Um, guys! We're not alone! Looks like a few Vladof ships are on the way, and they're armed to the teeth." Justin updated, not wanting to take on Vladof with a Stingray. Everyone started to move a bit faster, Lynn securing the pod in the transport ship. Unfortunately, Vladof arrived quicker than expected and started dropping soldiers while the ships started firing automatic weapons at them. Luckily, Vladof was known for their superior fire rate, not their aim, and no one was hurt during the barrage. In addition to their luck, Maliwan ships started to arrive and began firing at the Vladof ships.

They were automated defense ships, so they were a little more preoccupied with the Vladof ships that were shooting at their cargo rather than the people that were stealing it. Lydia and Patrick jumped onto the transport ship as Lynn started to pull away and Angel jumped onto the back of Nickoli's Stingray. Justin was doing a drive by pick up since he was currently a focus of the Vladof soldiers and signaled for Zach to jump as he got closer. Zach took a few steps back and took a running start, but a Vladof soldier got lucky and shot him in the calf, causing him to stumble and fall as Justin drive by. Before Zach could get up and start running, he was mobbed by three Vladof soldiers who grabbed him and knocked him out.

Angel looked back to see her brother being carried off by the soldiers and screamed for them to go back.

"We have to go back! We can't just leave him!" She argued as she readied herself to jump back onto the train to chase after the soldiers. She was about to jump when Nickoli reached back and grabbed her, preventing her from trying to save her brother. Angel thrashed and fought against Nickoli, but he held his grip on her.

"They've got him! If you go they get you too!" Nickoli argued, pulling away from the train and back to their base. Angel fought him the entire way, the group pulling the vehicles into the base and allowing the Claptraps to get to work on repairing the vehicles. Angel got off and started screaming at Nickoli.

"How could you! How could you just leave him there! He's just as much your brother as he is mine!" Angel screamed, Nickoli remaining like a statue. Angel balled her hands up by her head and screamed as she slapped Nickoli across the face. As soon as her hand was back down by her side, Nickoli wrapped her in a hug, burying her face in his shoulder. He held her there for a moment before finally letting her go and showing her an ECHO unit.

"Snagged this off of one of those soldiers. We'll find him Angel, I promise." Nickoli exclaimed, assuring his love. Angel took a deep breath and sighed in relief, a smile appearing on her helmet. The two went to Lynn, who was helping get the stasis pod off of the transport ship. "Lynn, can you use this to get a signal? Maybe to locate where Vladof is? It's probably the same place they took Zach."

"Please, I could do that in my sleep. Angel, help these guys out. Nickoli, you're with me." Lynn exclaimed as she took the ECHO from Nickoli. Angel started helping the others with the stasis pod, taking it to the main room with the holo pad that was still being repaired. Lydia and Justin started looking over the console for the pod while Angel and Patrick looked at the woman inside.

"What do you think, Patrick? Why would this woman be important to N1ne?" Angel questioned as the two tech heads started pressing buttons on the console. Patrick simply shrugged, unable to give an answer. Lydia hit one last button and the pod started to hiss, releasing gas from pod as it started to open. Everyone waited a moment as the woman took a deep breath and started coughing, her lungs not used to the air. She shifted so she was sitting on the edge of the pod when Angel asked the first question.

"Who are you?" Angel questioned as she took her helmet off. The woman coughed a few more times and started catching her breath before she finally answered.

"My name… is Krystal." She finally answered.


	4. Chapter 4: Locked Up

Chapter 4: Locked Up

Zach slowly started to return to reality, his head still spinning and throbbing since a Vladof soldier gave him a nasty crack to the head. He could tell he was bound to the chair he was sitting in as well as having a cloth tied around his mouth to gag him. He couldn't really get any information about the room he was sitting in, mainly since he had a bag over his head, light breaking through the small tears in it. Lucky for him, the bag wasn't on for long since it was yanked off when a small groan escaped his lips. He immediately assessed his room, seeing it was a small concrete room with a single light over his head and a door in front of him.

There were three individuals in the room other than him. Two were bulky Vladof soldiers in black jumpsuits with black boots and vests with assorted pouches on them. The third individual looked a little out of place from the other two, this one being female with blonde hair that was cut short. She wore black pants and boots with a red tank top that was cut a little too low to be within military regulations. Her dog tags hung loosely at her neck, naturally finding the crevice in her ample bust that she seemed proud to show off.

The female was the one that took the bag off, tossing it aside as she eyed Zach up and down. She reached out and tore the gag out of his mouth, Zach taking the chance to get a little more air into his system.

"Wow." The blonde commented as she leaned forward, putting only an inch or two between their faces. She smirked as she inspected him, Zach's training kicking in and putting on a neutral face. The blonde finished with a smug tone "You look different from the others."

"Different? Others?" Zach questioned, excitement starting to pick up. He thought he was the last clone, aside from the ones that N1ne hinted at. Hearing that there were more gave him a little more excitement in his life. The blonde chuckled a little bit, like she knew something that Zach didn't that was apparently obvious.

"You really think you're the first Zer0 clone we've captured? You're about the… tenth one we've captured so far?" The blonde questioned, looking back at the two soldiers behind her. Zach felt his blood start to boil as his fists tightened. Knowing that Vladof had captured several clones just said that they were probably trying to do the same thing Maliwan did; assassin soldiers. The very thought of his kin being used as cannon fodder pissed him off to no end.

"So, tell me… what's your number, clone?" The blonde questioned with a smirk, leaning over and showing her bust off a bit more than necessary. Zach took a minute to answer, allowing his blood to cool down and get his emotions in check. The last thing he wanted to do was piss off the person that seemed to be in charge of his interrogation.

"12… I'm number 12…" Zach answered as memories started to flood his mind. He thought about his escape from the Maliwan space station, his capture by N1ne and his clone brothers, and his actions of wiping out the clones during the Maliwan assault on Crimson City. Zach looked up to see the blonde and the soldiers have a look of surprise on their faces. He also saw a smile start to work its way across the blonde's face, and it did not look like a good smile to Zach.

"Zer0.12… now _this_ is a treat. _You're_ the clone that slaughtered his kin at the Battle of Crimson City." The blonde reminded as she stepped forward to Zach. What happened next threw Zach for a bit of a loop. She proceeded to sit in Zach's lap, wrap her legs around his waist and drape her arms around her shoulders. She pushed herself forward, nearly burying Zach's face in her cleavage and seriously confusing him. She brought her head down and whispered into his ear, sending chills down his spine.

"Does this turn you on, by any chance?" She whispered before starting to nibble at his ear. She pulled her head back, looking into Zach's eyes with deep blue eyes, Zach looking away from her. The blonde chuckled as she grinded against him, grabbing his jaw and turning his head so he was forced to look at her.

"I'll take that as a yes." The blonde chuckled. She stared into his eyes for a second before throwing Zach for a loop again. She pressed her lips to his and forced her tongue into his mouth, immediately attempting to wrap her tongue around his. She tasted sour to Zach, and a little rancid… but that was probably because it was a forced kiss he wasn't wanting. She pulled away after getting her fill, licking her lips with a smug smile while Zach simply rolled his eyes.

"I was hoping my first kiss would be more enjoyable than that." Zach commented, adding a touch of venom in his voice. He wasn't too thrilled at his first kiss being from some Vladof whore that forced it on him. The blonde seemed to find that hilarious and started laughing at him, the two soldiers chuckling as well.

"That was your first kiss?" The blonde laughed, still sitting in Zach's lap. She continued to laugh, the soldiers chuckling behind her and making Zach's blood boil just a little bit more. After a minute, the blonde stopped laughing and sighed, looking back at the soldiers and questioning "Hey, you two, know what that means?"

The blonde slowly turned her head back with a venom filled smug smile and pointed out, with all intent to ridicule and verbally harm Zach, "That tells me, like every other clone I've humiliated… and mutilated, you. Are. Alone."

Zach fought every urge to get emotional, to not spill critical information about his friends, or worse, his sister. He knew what the Vladof whore was doing, she was trying to get him emotional and say things he knew shouldn't be said. It was a classic interrogation technique… and he was not going to fall for it. He reeled in his anger and went back to his normal grumpy glare that he had perfected talking to the blonde.

"So, what are you? A soldier? Officer? Or some lap dancing whore?" Zack questioned, attempting to get a read on the woman who was interrogating him. The blonde unhooked her legs from Zach and stood up with a smile. She reached out, lightly patting his cheek twice before pulling back and slapping him across the face, leaving a massive stinging red mark on his face. She then grabbed his hair and yanked his head up, forcing him to look at her as she answered his question.

"I'm an officer of the Vladof Army… and a woman who enjoys sex. But right now you are my prisoner… and my bitch." The blonde growled happily, probably getting some form of pleasure out of what she did. She continued "And I am gonna have fun with you. All. Night. Long."

The two soldiers stepped out for a second and returned with a large cart that was covered in a variety of tools that could easily be used for torture. Knives, nails, hammers, drills and even a few containers of different chemicals covered the cart. The blonde reached over and grabbed a cordless drill, giving the trigger a few test squeezes to check on the power.

"This one is my favorites." The blonde stated with a twisted smile. She leaned forward, pressing the drill bit to the top of his left hand. With an evil grin, the blonde pulled the trigger and started to tear into Zach's hand, his scream of pain filling the room.

O00000O00000O

The woman named Krystal stood up from her pod, legs a little shaky as Angel kept a hand on her blade. This woman was a huge unknown and the last thing they could do in such a small, confined space was let their guard down.

"Krystal?" Angel repeated, just to make sure she heard the woman right. She heard that name before, an assassin her father knew and supposedly killed, only to learn she had survived and attempted to kill her parents. Luckily, her mother beat Krystal to the punch and killed her. Angel knew that it couldn't be the same woman since she looked about Zach's age.

"Yes… that's my name…" Krystal answered as she finally stood up straight. She surveyed the room the same way Angel or Zach would… looking for escape routes as well as the individuals that would get in her way. Whoever Krystal was… Angel knew that she was a trained assassin. Krystal's eyes fell back on Angel as she questioned "Where is my Dad?"

"Your Dad?" Patrick questioned.

"Yes. He also goes by N1ne." Krystal responded, her gaze falling to the team bruiser. The group that knew N1ne were a little taken back, surprised by the news that N1ne even had a daughter. It was silent for a minute, until Lynn stepped into the room and shattered the silence.

"Angel. I need you in my room." Lynn exclaimed, ignoring Krystal's presence entirely. Angel nodded and Lynn headed back to her room, Angel giving out an order before heading out herself.

"Lydia, keep an eye on Krystal. Krystal, please stay put." Angel ordered, the two nodding. Lydia stepped forward as Angel walked out, checking Krystal out a bit. She was an attractive woman, her black suit clinging to her curves nicely, really exaggerating her bust.

"So, Krystal… what are you into?" Lydia questioned, trying to get a feel for the woman. It was a simple question, and was really the safest when it came to learning sexual orientation. Krystal looked at Lydia, eyeing the woman before suddenly rushing forward. Krystal was about an inch away from Lydia's face, causing the Vladof runaway to get a tad flustered and her heart to start pounding.

"I'm straight." Krystal replied with a smile, which Lydia thought made her look that much more attractive. Lydia's face lit up as she took a step back, the other two in the room chuckling at the small moment.

Angel went after Lynn, entering her room that was clearly set up for her. On the far wall was a large computer set up, but it was a little junky since it was salvaged from the spare parts lying around the station. Nickoli was working on a spare table to Lynn's right, both of them looking like they had been working hard since they got back. Angel spotted a small ashtray on Lynn's desk with several burnt out cigarettes in it. She knew from Justin that when Lynn got stressed, she smoked, so this job was really stressing her out.

As Lynn sat back down at her set up, she pulled out another cigarette, lit it, and got right back to work. The entire set up basically told Angel the news… it wasn't very good.

"So… how goes the progress?" Angel questioned, already knowing the news. Lynn opened her mouth to explain, but Nickoli raised a hand as he approached Angel with a somber face.

"Well… we didn't think Vladof took as many precautions with their tech. They've rigged their ECHOs with data scramblers. If anyone tries to break into it, it sets up several firewalls and security measures. Since this one was just from a basic soldier… we can only assume this is how all of theirs work. Nickoli took a deep breath and threw out a heavy sigh filled with regret as he finished "We… haven't gotten anywhere yet."

"I can still find his location… it's just going to take a little bit longer than I originally thought." Lynn added as she continued working at the computer. She saw the slight twinge of worry on Angel's face, who was currently trying her best to stay strong, and needed to assure her. "Don't worry Angel, we'll find your brother."

"Alright then. I'm heading out." Angel exclaimed in a flat tone, hiding her worry with her training. She turned and was about to walk out when Nickoli caught her shoulder. She turned to look at him, seeing worry in his face.

"Where are you going?" Nickoli questioned. The last thing he wanted Angel to do was go out and do something stupid, he loved her and didn't want to lose her.

"While you and Lynn take care of finding Zach your way, I'll start looking for him my way." Angel stated as she looked forward.

"How's that?" Lynn questioned as she leaned back in her chair. Angel turned and looked at Angel with a raised eyebrow.

"Seriously? Did you forget that I'm an assassin? I know how to find a target." Angel responded with a smug smile. Nickoli wrapped his arms around Angel, kissing the side of her head.

"Just be careful, okay?" Nickoli asked. He didn't want anything to happen to her, even though he knew she could easily handle herself, being both an assassin and a Siren. Angel smiled and turned her head, giving him a quick kiss.

"Of course. " She assured him as she walked out. She headed to her room to grab her helmet, finding Krystal leaning by the door with a few weapons from the armory. Angel raised an eyebrow and questioned as she opened her door "What are you doing here?"

"I'm coming with you to find your brother." Krystal stated plainly as she followed Angel into her room. Angel's eyebrow stayed raised as she grabbed her helmet.

"How did you-. " Angel started to question.

"You aren't the only one with assassin training. Your friends are nice… but need a little more training when it comes to fighting an assassin." Krystal pointed out as they headed to the front gate. Angel nodded in agreement, not really wanting to ask what Krystal did to her friends. She was pretty sure Krystal didn't kill any of them, but they were still unsure of what she could do.

"Well, if you're going to be with me, then you need to make yourself useful. If you slow me down, I will leave you behind." Angel pointed out coldly. She was looking for her brother. She couldn't afford to have anyone slow her down.

"Understood." Krystal responded as they made it to the Moon Zoomy and summoned a vehicle.

O00000O00000O

Zach slumped in his chair, his face busted a thousand times, his hands drilled and stabbed a hundred times more. The blonde officer dropped her knife on the cart, astounded that Zach was healing as fast as he was and yet he was still maintaining consciousness. She smirked as she lifted Zach's head with her finger under his chin.

"I'm amazed. You've taken more punishment than I've ever seen for a clone, and I've tortured my fair share of clones." The officer explained with a smug smirk. Zach's blood started to boil again since this bitch decided to mock him after torturing him. His anger got the better of him and he spat the blood that collected in his mouth into her face. She smiled as she wiped the blood off her face, and then proceeded to grab Zach's collar. She pulled back and started to punch Zach in the face, again and again and again and again.

She punched him several more times until his shirt tore and he fell onto his back, but the officer wasn't quite done with him yet. She jumped on his chest and continued punching him until the two soldiers grabbed her arms and pulled her off of him. The blonde officer took a deep breath and straightened her clothes out, her cleavage still popping out of her red tank top.

"Sorry about that, Sweetie." The blonde apologized as one of the soldiers pulled Zach upright. She reached over and patted Zach's cheek gently before giving him a light kiss on his puffy, bloody cheeks. She ordered "Boys, take this handsome devil into his cell block until we're ready for our next round."

The soldiers nodded undid Zach's restraints, dragging him by his shoulders and his feet dragging against the ground.

"Shame we didn't get to have fun with you." One of the soldiers grumbled. The other soldier grunted in response, agreeing with his fellow soldier. Apparently they got the sloppy seconds from the blonde officer whore. The first officer chuckled "Maybe we'll get some action later."

Zach was too dazed from his beating to do anything, so he simply stayed quiet. The guards tossed him into the cell, Zach landing face first on the cold concrete as the bars slammed shut. Zach simply stayed on the floor until someone started helping him up and put him on the bed. He could hear them talking, but it was all just a dull roar since he was dizzy from being thrown like a doll. His vision started to blur, but he saw a vague image of the individual that was helping him; his own face.

O00000O00000O

Krystal and Angel made it to Concordia and easily found several drunk Vladof soldiers, easy prey to get information from. The two soldiers stumbled out of the bar, barking about finding some fun for the night. Angel started moving far to the soldiers to pick pocket them, but Krystal put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her.

"What is it?" Angel questioned, turning to Krystal. She was a bit confused on why they were stopping since it was such an easy target.

"Follow my lead." Krystal stated as she reached up and unzipped a good portion of her suit, revealing a lot of cleavage. Krystal then undid her hair, letting it fall free and fluffed it a bit, making her look quite slutty. Angel looked down at her own bust, or lack thereof, and sighed a bit. She wasn't exactly fond of showing off her skin, she never was, and definitely wasn't now since she was with Nickoli.

"Krystal, why are we… doing this?" Angel questioned since she didn't want to participate.

"Because, it will be much easier to get closer to them if we look more… easy." Krystal pointed out, cocking her hip a bit and causing her bust to bounce a bit. One of the men from the bar whistled at her, Krystal allowing herself to smirk a bit.

"I'm not very comfortable with this." Angel grumbled as she looked at her feet.

"Come on. You want to find your brother, right?" Krystal questioned.

Angel took a deep breath and sighed, knowing that she really did want to find her brother. She simply had to get over her own self-consciousness of her body and follow Krystal's lead. She reached up and unzipped her suit a bit, going to the same length as Krystal, but barely showed anything. Krystal sighed and shook her head, seeing that this was going to be a little harder than she originally thought.

"Here, let me just…" Krystal offered as she reached over and started to pull down more on Angel's suit top. She continued to unzip until she basically took off the entire top. Krystal put her hand under her chin and thought for a second before finally suggested "You may as well remove the top since you don't have a chest to show off."

"I will not!" Angel barked, grabbing her open top and tightly closed it, her face turning a bit red. She hated showing her body to others, Nickoli being the only exception since he praised her body.

"Just… pretend that your boyfriend is looking at you." Krystal suggested.

"How did-."

"You don't need to be an assassin to see you two are nauseatingly in love. Just pretend you're trying to seduce him and grab his ECHO. Okay?" Krystal suggested again, hoping that this was a way that would work. She was going to have to help Angel with the art of seduction since Angel seemed to be too shy to do so. Krystal learned that an assassin needed to be able to do whatever it took to get their target, even if that meant having to seduce them.

"Okay… let's do this…" Angel stated as she took her top off and stored it in her inventory, leaving her standing in her dark blue bra and assassin pants, looking more the part. The two got ready and started walking, both of them popping their hips as they approached the two drunk soldiers, who easily spotted them and started whistling. Krystal got up to the soldier, pressing herself against him with a very flirty look. Angel did the same, pushing herself against the soldier, who proceeded to grab her ass. Angel had to fight every urge to crack the soldier across the face, but it was for her brother.

"Hey big boys." Krystal flirted, changing her voice to something more girly and flirty.

"Hey there, sweet cheeks." The drunken soldier slurred.

"Me and my sister here heard you were looking for a good time." Krystal flirted, reaching up and caressing the man's cheek. Both of the soldiers started to laugh as they nodded at each other.

"Sisters… that's hot…" The soldier with Angel chuckled, Angel feeling the soldier get aroused. Honestly, Angel felt disgusted to be doing what she was… it just felt wrong and she felt like she was cheating on Nickoli.

"We're definitely looking for a good time. You two want to join us?" The soldier with Krystal questioned. Krystal slid her hand into the soldier's back pocket and snatched the ECHO, Angel doing the same with the guy she was with.

"We would love to." Krystal replied as she slipped the ECHO into her own back pocket. The soldiers drunkenly laughing as they wrapped their arms around the girls' waists. They were about to start walking away when Angel came up with an idea to sneak away.

"Oh wait! I forgot our… special toys… for tonight. I'll be right back." Angel exclaimed as she snaked out of the soldier's arm. Krystal saw what she was doing and immediately joined in.

"I'll help you get them." Krystal exclaimed as she snaked out of the soldier's arm. She caressed his chest and flirted a bit more "Where can we meet you boys at?"

"Oh, you can find us at Banjo Point. Can't wait to see you two there." The first soldier exclaimed. The two stumbled away, laughing and cheering at their score for the night, leaving Angel and Krystal shaking their heads. Krystal looked at Angel with a raised eyebrow, a tad confused at the sudden change in her attitude.

"Special toys?" Krystal questioned as Angel quickly took her top back out and threw it on.

"I was improvising! I feel dirty…" Angel barked as she zipped her suit up. Krystal shrugged and pulled out the ECHO, finding it unlocked and open for her to look through.

"I think I can find out where they took your brother. What's his name?" Krystal questioned as she started going through the ECHO device.

"Zach, and you know how to hack?" Angel questioned as she tied her hair back up.

"No, but I know how to look through some messages and emails." Krystal responded as she continued to look through the ECHO. She searched for a minute, earning a few more whistles from the drunkards at the bar. She finally found what she was searching for; a message pertaining a captured individual. Krystal announced "Found it. It says 'Target acquired from the train station will be sent to the old Hyperion hub for questioning."

"Yes! We have a location! Let's get the others and get out of here." Angel stated as she took the ECHO from Krystal. She put both of them in her Siren hand and froze them until they shattered. Krystal smirked and nodded, impressed by her abilities. It wasn't a secret that Angel was a Siren, the tattoos were a dead giveaway, but Krystal was impressed by her abilities.

"Interesting. Let's go." Krystal exclaimed after she zipped her suit back up. The two headed for their ride and were ready to figure out how to get Zach back.

O00000O00000O

Zach slowly woke up with a splitting headache which pulsed a dull pain with every heartbeat. He rubbed his head and sat up, attempting to get a better idea of where he was, and finding that clone. His vision started to clear to see he was inside a concrete cell, similar to what would be seen inside a prison. He looked around, and saw several Zer0 clones. One with white hair approached Zer0 and took a knee by the side of the bed.

"Hello, brother. I am Zer0-1." The clone greeted. Zach couldn't believe what he was seeing, this clone looked like Zer0 if he had aged about 20 extra years.

"Ugh, hi… why are you older than the other Zer0 clones?" Zach questioned as he rubbed his head, trying to massage his headache.

"We are first generation clones. Failures to the Maliwan Corporation, so we were simply tossed aside." Zer0-1 answered. Zach attempted to get out of the bed, but another clone, younger than 1, but not by much, kept him from getting out of bed.

"Stay in bed. You're still healing." The clone urged, keeping Zach in bed. Zach was far too tired and sore to argue, so he simply sat in the bed.

"So, which clone are you?" Another clone questioned.

"My clone number is 12. I called myself Z-12 for short, and everyone around me called me that. I eventually took the name Zach." Zach explained, remaining in bed. All of the clones murmured to each other until one of them recognized Zach's number.

"12? You're the clone that slaughtered all our brothers!" The clone barked as he stood up. Two other clones stood up as Zach laid back on the bed. A wave of guilt slammed into Zach as he remembered what he did. He grabbed his pillow and smothered his face with it. Luckily, Zer0-1 stood up and acted as the peace bringer, trying to ease the entire situation.

"Brothers no! We all know what our original purpose was for Maliwan. Foot soldiers. Our brother put an end to their suffering and torment." Zer0-1 argued. Apparently it worked since the other three clones seemed to calm down and took their seats. Zach took the pillow off of his head and decided to share his thoughts.

"I was just so angry. To have me, and all of my brothers, treated like pieces of meat. We were designed to be lambs for the slaughter. So… in my state of emotions, I thought if I were to take away the sheep from Maliwan, I thought I'd cripple them. In a way it did, but I also planned on taking my own life after that." Zach responded, loud enough for all of them to hear.

"Really? What stopped you?" Zer0-1 questioned.

"My sister, Angel. She's the daughter of the original Zer0. She punched me in the face and dragged me out of there." Zach answered. There were several gasps from the clones.

"You… met the original Zer0?" Zer0-1 questioned.

"Yeah, he took me in… well… he let me in his house, but he eventually warmed up to me." Zach answered.

"So, who is Zer0's wife?" Another clone questioned.

"Maya, the Siren that helped take down Handsome Jack." Zach answered.

"What's Angel like?" A different clone asked.

Before Zach could answer, one of the soldiers from the interrogation room started banging on the cell bars with a baton. All of the other clones almost instinctively went against the walls, staying clear of the soldiers.

"Alright, 12. You've had your rest, and it's time for your next session." The soldiers went in with their guns pulled out, one of them grabbing Zach and tossing him to the floor. The guards proceeded to kick at Zach, aiming for his softer spots. One of the clones decided to use the opportunity and sneak the keys off his belt, stashing it silently in his pocket. It was a good amount of time before the soldiers were done with their fun, leaving Zach a crumpled heap on the floor while they laughed. A clone helped Zach to a bed while the other started plotting their escape.

"Let's get out of here." The clone that stole the keys exclaimed as he went for the cell door. Zer0-1 stood in front of the cell door, making apparent they weren't leaving just yet.

"No, not yet. If Zer0-12 has allies out there, then they'll be here soon. We will make our escape then." Zer0-1 planned. "Until then, we'll wait and form a plan."

Zer0-1 huddled together with his brothers and made a plan while Zach laid on the bed and recovered from his beating.

O00000O00000O

Angel and Nickoli sat on a ridge that had a clear view of the Vladof base, and it was heavily fortified. There were heavy defenses, turrets placed on high metal walls, tight security, patrols that went around the interior every five minutes, and vehicular patrols that travelled around the outside.

"Alright, I count 10 snipers on the rooftops… and two guards on every single entrance." Nickoli answered as he stared through a pair of binoculars. Angel was staring down the scope of a sniper rifle and surveyed with Nickoli. It looked like Vladof was taking every precaution against infiltration. Angel continued to look around until she spotted several large open backed trucks with large bots on them. They resembled Maliwan bots, only much bigger, more armor, and more guns.

"Hey, Nicki, look at the trucks down there." Angel pointed out. Nickoli focused on the trucks, seeing the new robots on the truck. They had more of a boxed chest and broader shoulder pads, more than likely due to thicker armor. There was a mini gun placed on the right shoulder with a large back to hold all the ammo. The left hand had been replaced with an assault rifle, no need for an actual hand.

"Those are new." Nickoli commented as he lowered his binoculars. "But it gives me an idea. It's risky… but I think it could work."

"Well then, let's get back to the base and discuss said plan."


	5. Chapter 5: Break Out

Chapter 5: Break Out

The team gathered around the newly repaired holo-pad at the center of their command center. The large, cracked holo-pad had been retrofitted using the remaining glass and circuitry into a circular table similar to the one the Crimson Raiders used. The only one not gathered around the table was Krystal, who was sitting off to the side and listening in to the plan. She had proved her use and a bit of loyalty to the team getting the Vladof communicator as well as cracking it and figuring out where Zach was taken.

"Alright, from what we saw, the prison is heavily fortified with snipers, frequent patrols, and truckloads of robots packing a whole lot of ordinance." Nickoli pointed out as a holographic image of the prison presented itself. All of the defenses were laid out in red while the structure itself was a light blue. The prison was similar to all other prisons, large and boxed shape with towers set up on the corners.

"So, what's the best plan we got?" Justin questioned as he looked over the layout. Tactically speaking, the place was nearly perfectly defended. No place was ever perfectly defended, but this was damn close. Angel stepped forward and zoomed in to the interior of the building.

"From what we've seen, they keep the bulk of their patrols on the exterior of the prison. Their only real blind spot is on the inside." Angel updated.

"So, we need to destroy this place from the inside, right?" Lynn surmised. It seemed like a relatively easy plan; get inside, disable key systems, get Zack out and celebrate after. Of course, no plan ever went that easily.

"Right." Patrick answered with his usual short response. Lynn smirked as she went to one of the terminals she had connected to her main computer. Krystal finally decided to add her own input into the conversation.

"So, any volunteers to get arrested?"

"I'll do it." Nickoli immediately volunteered. Angel immediately had argument.

"No! I need to do it." Angel argued.

"Angel, please, Vladof doesn't know about you. I'm the only one here who's wanted by Vladof."

"Exactly. If you were to go in, I'm certain they'll lock you up tight. We need someone that's not well known by Vladof. I need to do this. Besides, you'll be more suited on the outside." Angel explained as she zoomed out of the interior of the prison. She adjusted to the small ridge that sat near the prison that seemed to have been forgotten.

"What do you mean?" Nickoli questioned.

"Well, once I start to make a mess inside, the rest of you will need to distract the teams outside to keep them from coming inside." Angel explained as she pointed at the hologram.

"We overrun the prison from both sides… clever." Justin complimented. "I guess I'll put my hat on the outside distraction."

"Precisely, Nickoli, Justin and Patrick, you three are best suited for that part so you'll need to make as much ruckus you can make."

"When?" Justin questioned for clarification.

"As soon as the insides start stirring up." Nickoli interpreted. It seemed pretty simple, make a big distraction and scatter the Vladof forces. Patrick smirked as he popped his knuckles, silently signaling that he was ready for a fight. Krystal moved from her spot and joined everyone at the table.

"There is one problem I can see. Angel, whatever you plan on doing, either starting a riot or turning their security measures against them, you'll need to stick with it in case it isn't enough. I suggest we send in another set of hands to get your brother back." Krystal pointed out and suggested.

"Are you offering?" Angel questioned.

"I am. I may not know your brother, but if we're trying to pull off a plan this big then he must be worth the trouble." Krystal responded. Angel couldn't help but smile at the remark. Krystal was willing to put her life on the line for her brother, and she didn't even know him.

"Thank you, Krystal." Angel thanked with a large smile.

"You're welcome, and don't worry about me. I think I've already found a way to get myself in." Krystal assured. Lynn finally came back to the group, pulling a small card out of the port on the console.

"Alright boys and girls, I found a way to get Angel inside the prison." Lynn announced as she put her hands on her hips and pushed her chest out, appearing very pleased with herself.

"How?" Angel questioned.

"We'll need someone to pose as a Vladof soldier, and it shouldn't be a problem with this I.D. card here." Lynn responded as she held out a very convincing Vladof I.D. card. Lydia stepped up and took the I.D. card, giving them their fake soldier.

"I'll do it." Lydia responded. Nickoli stepped up, questioning his half-sister's decision.

"Are you sure about this, sis?" Nickoli asked, just assuring her position.

"Compared the two of us, I would sneak in easier… I am the one with organic arms, no offense." Lydia responded.

"You're good, and you aren't wrong."

"Alright, so we're all clear on the plan?" Angel questioned, assuring that everyone knew their role in the mission. Everyone nodded their heads and started getting themselves ready when they had a visitor. He rolled into the command center with a bit of urgency.

"Hello everyone! There's a call waiting for you on the main line!" Claptrap announced as he rolled to the map and started hitting buttons to bring up the call. The call brought up a man about their parents age with long, slicked black brown hair that was starting to gray around the edges. One eye was brown while the other was yellow.

"Hello everyone, I'm Rhys, the CEO of the Atlas corporation." The man introduced.

"Hello sir, can I ask what is with the unexpected call? We're a bit… busy… right now." Angel greeted and explained. The last time they got mixed up with a corporation CEO was Maliwan, and that didn't exactly go very well.

"You must be Angel, Zer0's daughter."

Angel was a bit taken back from the comment. How did he know about her, and her father?

"How do you know me and my father?" Angel questioned, wanting to get to the bottom of this.

"Oh right, he sent me to help you guys out. I owe him a favor myself, so this is where I cash in that chip. So Claptrap here gave me the run down on your status with Vladof, and your rescue mission. I've been monitoring their business on Elpis for quite some time, and I have something for you that might prove helpful. But first, I assume you know about Vladof's new robots?" Rhys explained and questioned. The group looked around, everyone completely looking over the mass of robots that Vladof had at the prison.

"Oh yeah… right… we forgot about those." Angel admitted, a tad embarrassed on her oversight.

"Well, knowing those things can pack a very bad punch, I do have a way around them. I'm sending you a virus that will hack those big guys and rewrite their friend/foe identification programing." Rhys stated as he started messing with a computer off screen.

"Ooo, I like the sound of that virus." Lynn responded, smiling a bit.

"There's only one downside. It has to be uploaded through the bot's central control system… which is on the inside of the prison. But I assume that it won't be a problem." Rhys pointed out.

"No, it won't. I'll plant the virus. Just send it over and I'll make sure it gets there." Lydia declared as she put her hands on her hips, giving her a very confident pose.

"Good. Sending it over."

"Wait, Rhys, can you do us one more favor?" Angel questioned, hoping that she wouldn't be overstepping her boundaries.

"Name it."

"Once we get my brother out, we'll need an escape transport. Would you be able to help us out with that?" Angel questioned.

"You got it. I've got a friend on Elpis, he can help. As for me, I'll be on my way to Elpis soon, where I can provide assistance personally."

"Very well, see you soon." Angel replied.

"You got it, and good luck." Rhys replied before he ended the call. The virus arrived to Lynn's console and she immediately checked it over.

"Let's see what we've got here." Lynn stated as she checked the virus' programing. It was incredibly complex and powerful, luckily it was on their side or it could have sent them back to the Stone Age. "Wow, this is a very powerful virus. Lydia, let me see your ECHO."

Lydia handed over her ECHO and Lynn downloaded it on to it so she could get it into Vladof's computers.

"Alright, here you go." Lynn stated as she handed off the ECHO. "All you need to do is plug it into the main system, and if Rhys isn't bullshitting us, this plan should go off without a hitch."

"Good. Alright Angel, let's get you ready for prison." Lydia chuckled as she turned to Angel. Angel simply smiled, positive that their plan would work.

O00000O00000O

Zach sits beaten and brutally broken, his body barely able to handle the near constant torture. He was covered in blood, he was horribly bruised and he was barely able to stay awake. Lucky for him, his advanced healing factor kept him from dying. The Vladof officer/ whore tossed her hammer aside, clearly pissed off that he hadn't broken yet. She roughly grabbed his hair and yanked him back so she was staring into his eyes.

"How are you still breathing god dammit!?" She practically spat in his face. The constant torture should have broken him, just like it did all of the others. This one was certainly resilient, and it was just getting in her way. A small smile slid across Zach's face with a small chuckle, just pissing her off more. She grabbed a knife from the table and put it on his throat, ready to slice his jugular, but her ECHO started to ring.

She tossed the knife aside, clearly angered that she had been interrupted, and grabbed her ECHO.

"What!?" She barked.

"Ma'am, we have a new prisoner coming in." The other end exclaimed in a male voice.

"Another clone?"

"No ma'am, a girl."

Zach flinched a bit hearing that news, fearing that it might have been Angel. Lucky for him, the botch was too busy with her call to notice.

"What does she look like?" The female officer questioned.

"Black hair, blue eyes, and pretty." The male responded.

Zach used every ounce of energy he had left in his body and will power not to react to that news. He should have figured they would come after him, but he didn't think that Angel would have been captured.

"Stash her with the rest of the prisoners for now. I'll get to her later." The female officer stated. She hung up her ECHO and stashed it as she went for the hammer she tossed aside. She placed the head of the hammer against the left side of his left knee with a devilish smile. "Now, where were we?"

She reared the hammer back and brought it right where she had aimed.

O00000O00000O

Angel was escorted through the halls of the prison, her hands bound by handcuffs behind her back. Her tattoos were covered by body paint, so her Siren identity was safe… for now. Lydia was posing as a Vladof soldier. Angel slowed her pace a bit, but Lydia shoved her forward with some aggression to keep the guise up.

"Keep moving." She growled as Angel stumbled forward, doing her best to seem like she was a part of the group. One soldier walked by and checked Angel out with a smile.

"Hey there, gorgeous." The soldier flirted as he got closer to Angel. Lydia raised her weapon a bit towards the soldier, the barrel pointed at his knee caps.

"If you touch my prisoner, I'll fill you with lead." Lydia threatened. The soldier backed off and the two continued their trek until they met up with the commanding officer with two soldiers acting as his guard.

"Who are you?" The CO questioned.

"Private First Class Anna, sir, and this is Angie. I caught her stealing our supplies in Concordia. Figured this bitch needs to be locked up" Lydia responded, snapping to attention to continue her disguise.

"Stealing supplies, eh? Well, we'll make sure your stay is a living hell." The CO snarled in Angel's face. She had face far worse than whatever this Vladof scum could do, so she wasn't exactly worried. The CO looked to Lydia and continued "Good work, private. Head down to the lounge and we'll call you up for your debrief."

"Yes sir." Lydia responded. The two soldiers grabbed Angel by the arms, preparing to escort her.

"And as for you, buttercup, let's get you ready for the slammer." The CO exclaimed, gesturing to the side with his head. Before the soldiers left with Angel, she and Lydia shared a quick glance and a small nod. Once the guards with Angel and the CO were out of sight, Lydia started searching for the main computer system to upload the virus.

O00000O00000O

The two guards escorted Angel to the cell where they were holding all of the clones and uncuffed her, tossing her in without a care. The older clone that led the clones went to Angel's side and assisted her back onto her feet.

"Thank you." Angel replied as she looked up at the elder clone, who seemed a tad surprised at her reaction.

"You don't seem surprised by us. Have you met other Zer0 clones like us?" the elder clone questioned.

"Yes, I'm Angel, daughter of Zer0." Angel introduced.

"Ah, 12's sister. I'm Zer0-1, an original Zer0 clone."

Angel brightened up hearing that Zach was still here, even though his condition was still unknown to her.

"Yes! Is he okay!?" Angel questioned in a quiet, excited tone. The last thing she needed was for the guards to get suspicious of her for questioning about another prisoner. She also noted the change in the clones' faces when she questioned about Zach.

"Well… he's alive." Zer0-1 answered. Something about the tone of his voice made her questioned whether Zach was truly okay.

"What do you mean?" Angel questioned, now extremely worried.

"He's… been going through constant rounds of torture… we've stopped counting how many times he's taken out of this room just for that reason."

Angel could feel her blood start to boil, her peaked emotions causing her Siren tattoos to react and glow. She quickly calmed herself down, her tattoos starting to dull before anyone noticed through the body paint, which was causing her arm to itch and burn a bit.

"Is he in there right now?" Angel questioned, even though she already knew the answer to that. The sad looks on the clones' faces were all the answer she needed. The very thought of one of their own going through those inhuman torture sessions tore everyone's spirits down. Zer0-1 decided to bring up the mood as he flashed Angel the key that they snagged from one of the guards.

"But we do have this. Got it from one of the guards." Zer0-1 replied with a smirk.

"Why haven't you used it yet?" Angel questioned. She was very confused to find the clones here if they had a key. Why not use it and escape?

"We were hoping we'd take advantage of the situation when help would arrive. We figured that someone would arrive to help12 and break him out." Zer0-1 explained.

"Well, don't worry. We're all escaping. All we need to do is wait."

"For what?"

"For a friend to start the party."

O00000O00000O

The coast was clear so far, Lydia catching the security shift change, so she had a perfect opportunity to get in and out. She made her way to the prison's main computer, but she couldn't help but stumble upon the contraband lock up. She quickly found all of Zach's gear, his pistols, swords and his helmet, and stashed it in her inventory. Lydia left the room and quickly moved to the main computer in the security office. She checked the room, luckily finding it completely empty, a poor decision on the Vladof security. She plugged in her ECHO and immediately started uploading the virus, which was set on a remote activation.

She could hear some of the soldiers talking outside nearby, but lucky for her, the virus was finished uploading. She quickly unplugged her ECHO and slipped out before the soldiers made it to the office. Her next stop was to check on Angel, hoping that the lock up wasn't that bad of a life.

O00000O00000O

Nickoli, Justin and Patrick sat on the nearby ridge checking their weapons before their signal went off. Nickoli was checking over his arms for the billionth time, still trying to figure out his new appendages. Patrick was polishing and inspecting his new Torgue rocket launcher since he was their heavy weapons support. He was also carrying a caustic Tediore double barrel shotgun, Vladof grenade rifle and Jakobs revolver. Justin was doing some final tweaks on his Battle Borak, specifically checking the turrets for any final bugs.

He was carrying a full set of Dahl weaponry, a sniper rifle, assault rifle, pistol and submachine gun. All of them were pretty focused on their gear to notice that someone was moving up towards them. Luckily, it was only Claptrap riding Zver, but Claptrap was armed with a Maliwan Lightning Laser gun.

"Claptrap? What are you doing here?" Justin questioned as he looked away from his Battle Borak.

"And how did Zver let you ride him? Let alone even let you near him?" Nickoli questioned as he closed his arms up.

"Come on! I know how to handle a good gun… and a stalker. I can certainly help!" Claptrap cheered as he pet the barrel of his weapon.

"Since when?" Patrick questioned as he started putting his weapons away.

"Since before Handsome Jack recruited me to take out the Commander of the Lost Legion! Oh the memories I have on this moon…" Claptrap sighed happily, clearly reminiscing about his time on Elpis.

"Alright Claptrap, if you can hold your own, and don't annoy us to death, you're more than welcome to join us." Nickoli sighed as he went over to Zver and started scratching behind his ear.

"Seriously?" Patrick groaned, clearly unhappy about Claptrap joining them. He had spent enough time around Claptrap and didn't really want to spend any more time with him.

"Patrick, he's not wrong about Handsome Jack or Dahl. My father always talked about the operations the Lost Legion had here. If he really had a part to play in that, then he can handle himself." Justin defended.

"Why thank you, Justin. You may have never noticed, but I've always appreciated you." Claptrap complimented as he rolled over and patted Justin on the arm.

"Thanks… I guess." Justin replied as he went back to inspecting his turret. Claptrap decided to start inspecting his own weapon, ensuring it was in its best condition.

"Is that laser gun the only thing you brought?" Nickoli questioned. It didn't seem too intelligent to bring just one weapon when sieging an enemy stronghold.

"Nicky, my friend, have you ever even seen a laser gun in action?" Claptrap questioned. Nickoli held out his arms to Claptrap, converting them into their laser weapon forms. Claptrap looked at Nickoli's weapons and replied "Oh yeah… well, despite that, when you hold one of these babies in your hands, you don't question, you just shoot."

"Alright, it's almost time. Everyone, get into position." Nickoli ordered as he moved to the ridge overlooking the prison. He couldn't help but think about what kind of hell that he was going through. Zach was his brother, and he easily deserved better than whatever was happening to him. Nickoli quietly sighed to himself "I promise Zach, the second we break you out of there, we are definitely hooking you up with someone."

Patrick slowly slid up to Nickoli and looked out at the prison with him.

"The virus?" Patrick questioned in his usual short manner. Nickoli looked at the heavy hitter, thinking that he never really heard him use more than a few words anytime he talked.

"Yeah, it should take care of those robots. I bet if we can get a few parts from the bots, it'll make Justin's day." Nickoli chuckled.

"Agreed." Patrick chuckled as he loaded his shotgun. Justin crawled up to the other two, joining in on the conversation.

"So, when do we start shooting?" Justin questioned, ready to break their friend out of the jail.

"As soon as the lights go out in the prison, which should be soon. Considering the robots are starting to take positions, it shouldn't be too long." Nickoli updated, hoping that he was right.

O00000O00000O

Lydia headed to the cell block and easily found Angel, with a bunch of other Zer0 clones.

"Hey Angel." Lydia whispered, doing her best to avoid suspicion.

"What is it, Lydia?"

"I'm about to initiate the virus, figured you would want to know before the party starts." Lydia answered as she slipped Angel her ECHO.

"Thanks Lydia." Angel answered as she took her ECHO and stashed it away.

"I marked the armory on it, once you break out, head there and arm up."

"You got it."

Lydia turned and spotted two guards, both with wide smiles on their faces and looks that said they meant harm. She immediately had a horrible feeling in her gut that a meeting with these guards would not end well.

"I knew it! You're Lydia Vladof!" The guard on the left laughed. Lydia was frozen in place in utter disbelief that she was so easily discovered. "And it looks like she's planning on breaking these scumbags out!"

She quickly tried to grab her ECHO to initiate the virus and cause enough chaos for her to get away, but the guards quickly pulled out their guns and pointed them at her before she could get her hand on her ECHO.

"Move another muscle, you and everyone around you, are going to be used for target practice." The second guard threatened. Lydia knew that the guards wouldn't hesitate to end her, Angel and the guards. The left guard went to the cell door and opened it up. "Now turn around and get in the cell."

As soon as the door was opened, Lydia attempted to beat the guard down, but he was ready for her. He struck her in the face with his pistol as the second guard jumped to his aid. He backhanded her with his pistol, striking her in the side of the head with the grip of his pistol, knocking her to the ground. Once she was on the ground, the two guards started kicking her relentlessly. Using what strength she had, Lydia pulled out her ECHO and initiated the virus.

As soon as she did, the power shut down as the entire base's computer and power systems needed to reboot. The emergency power kicked on, bathing everyone in a red glow. Angel took the opportunity and generated her power, coating her hands in ice until they became spears, her Siren tattoos burning the body paint away. She charged them with a roar, both guards turning to see Angel spear them both in the chest and take them to the floor. Angel pulled her spears out, turned them into frozen fists, and slammed them down, turning the guards' heads into bloody messes on the floor.

Angel and Lydia took their weapons, both of them getting a Vladof pistol and rifle. The clones gathered to the two, so Angel chose to address them.

"Alright everyone, we're heading for the armory and we're going to shoot our way out." Angel exclaimed with confidence and power in her voice. The clone prisoners cheered and followed her out of the cell. Zer0-1 stopped at the dead guards and pulled out the key to their cell.

"Here." Zer0-1 muttered as he tossed the key onto a corpse. "You can have this back."

"What about 12?" Zer0-1 questioned as he caught up with Angel at the front of the group.

"Don't worry, we have another friend here taking care of that. We'll meet them at the extraction." Angel replied with a smile, taking the clones to the armory.

O00000O00000O

In one of the halls of the red lighted base, a ventilation cover is kicked out and Krystal slides out, landing silently. She's wearing her assassin suit and a pair of night-vision goggles that gave her 180 degrees of vision, which was given to her by Lydia.

"Alright Zach, let's see what kind of trouble you've gotten yourself into." Krystal quietly muttered as she started making her way through the halls. There weren't any alarms yet, so either they hadn't escaped yet, or no one was left to sound the alarm. She slunk through the halls, searching for the torture room, which became easy when she started to hear roars of pain. She heard a clang, like a metal object being thrown on the ground and a woman bark in a rage.

"For fucks sake! Why won't you break!" the woman barked angrily. Krystal slid to the door and heard a weak male laugh.

"I've got all day, sweetheart." She heard a man reply weakly. It suddenly went quiet again, and the door started to open. Krystal quickly slipped into a dark corner as the torturer and two guards walked out of the room.

"Alright, that's enough. When we get back, he's getting a bullet in the head. I've had enough of him." The torturer growled, even though she looked like she belonged on a pole rather than a military instillation.

"Yes ma'am." One of the guards replied.

"Let's go see what's going on with the power."

The three walked down the hall, giving Krystal the opportunity to slip into the room without anyone being the wiser. She turned the light on and removed her goggles to see a bloody scene. There was blood all over the floor and the tools on the table by the prisoner. The man she could only assume was Zach was beaten and sliced into a bloody pulp, his head hanging down. Krystal felt sick just looking Zach's condition.

She knelt down, lifting his chin to see his beaten face. Luckily, he was still alive, although barely conscious. She started to lightly pat his cheek to get him to wake up.

"Hey, wake up." Krystal called out as she patted his cheek. Zach slowly started to come back to, groaning as he forced his eyes open.

"Who… are you?" He questioned weakly, but clear enough to understand.

"I'll tell you later, when it's safe. All you need to know is that Angel sent me."

Zach sighed in relief, but then his eyes widened a bit. His look went very grim as he looked over Krystal's head. He croaked through his broken mouth "Duck!"

Krystal ducked just in the nick of time, dodging a kick that was meant for her. Unfortunately, that kick went to Zach and knocked him out cold. Krystal spun around and drew her katana, borrowed from the Crimson Raider armory. She immediately spotted the torturer with a smug smile and a large hunting knife.

"What do we have here?" The torturer questioned as the two started to square off.

"I'm the last thing you'll ever see in your life." Krystal replied with smile.

"Prove it."

The torturer charged, swinging the large knife, aimed at Krystal's throat. Krystal caught the swing and wrapped her arm around the torturer's, swinging her and throwing her across the room. The two guards came in behind her and grabbed Krystal's arms. She kicked one leg up, showing off her flexibility and clocked one guard in the face, then stomped on the other's foot and elbowed him in the face when he let her go. She quickly grabbed her blade from the floor and sliced the two guards' heads off with ease.

The torturer recovered from being thrown and kicked Krystal in the back, but she was able to recover quickly. Krystal went on the attack, swinging her blade at the torturer. Unfortunately, the torturer was just as agile as she was and dodged every swing, taking a step back as she did. The torturer decided to switch it up and went on the attack herself, making just as much headway as Krystal did. The one thing that was different, the torturer struck her in the neck, and then struck her in the side with her knee.

Krystal, unfortunately dropped her blade, giving the torturer the chance to kick her, but using both feet. She flew across the room and slammed into the wall, grunting hard as she did. Luckily, her hand found the blade the torturer had tossed to the ground earlier. She charged the torturer with renewed ferocity that threw the torturer off her game. Krystal struck her with several hooks, a strike to the stomach and then an uppercut that forced the torturer to stumble back.

While the torturer was stunned, Krystal rushed forward and slammed the blade into her stomach, the torturer gurgled a bit as blood started to leak out of her mouth. Krystal laid her down and ripped the blade from her stomach, and tossed the knife aside to pick up her own katana, sheathing it as she went to Zach. She undid the binds on his ankles and wrists, Zach slumping down on her, so Krystal basically had to carry him. As she stood up with him, there was a loud explosion and the sound of gunfire started to echo through the halls.

"Come on, Zach. Let's get you home." Krystal cooed as she carried him out of the room and into the halls.

O00000O00000O

Angel's group made it to the armory, finding it completely empty, so their distraction plan was working. It consisted mostly out of Vladof weaponry, but it was more than enough to break them out.

"To freedom! Arm yourselves my brothers!" Zer0-1 called out as he grabbed a purple rarity spinigun. The rest of the group went in and started grabbing rifles and heading back out. Angel and Lydia were the last out of the room, Lydia not taking anything since she was already armed to the teeth. Angel emerged only with the armory's best weapon; the Infinity. They also grabbed some high explosives to blast through anything that got in their way.

They pressed on, coming to the main door, which was currently locked down due to the sounds of gunfire and explosions.

"Get to work on the door. I'll see what I can pull from this computer." Zer0-1 ordered. The rest of the clones started setting up the explosives as he went to the computer and plugged an ECHO into it. Angel went to Zer0-1 just as another clone stopped working to talk to him.

"1, even when this is over, do you really think we can trust Angel?" the clone questioned, clearly either ignoring her presence or he just didn't care. Angel shot him a very neutral blank, void of all emotion, just like her father taught her. Once Zer0-1 was done downloading any useful data from Vladof, he unplugged his ECHO, stashed it in his pocket, and walked over to the two assassins.

"As if she were my own daughter. All of us aren't really so different, our origins were from the same person, just with different processes." Zero-1 then put a hand on each of their shoulders with a smile. "Since the beginning and from now on, we are all kin." Zer0-1 announced with a smile. Angel couldn't help but drop her blank face and replace it with a smile, feeling like it was her father standing before her. The other clone smiled and nodded at Angel, accepting Zer0-1's response. A clone at the door called that the explosives were ready. Once everyone was braced, he blew the door to reveal the front had become a warzone between soldiers and the robots, now showing a blue light.

O00000O00000O

The group on the ridge readied their weapons once they saw the power go down and all the robots slump forward, the red lights going out.

"Shouldn't the robots be on our side now?" Justin questioned as he started down the scope of his sniper rifle, looking at the now deactivated robots.

"I think so." Nickoli responded, both arms in their weaponized forms. According to Rhys and Lydia, the virus was supposed to rewrite the robots friend/foe subroutines.

"So when do we shoot?" Justin questioned, clearly having an itchy trigger finger.

"When the robots start shooting."

The last thing he wanted to do was ruin the plan by jumping the gun. And if they all made it out by some miracle, he would never hear the end of it from Angel. They watched as one of the few soldiers at the gate walked up to a robot and tapped its head piece. The robots all stood up straight, the red light now turned blue and turned on the soldiers. Their weapons went hot, unloading everything into the soldiers that were at the gate.

One of the guards were able to set off the alarm, drawing all of the soldiers that were on patrol towards the front, where they were met with heavy resistance. The group on the ridge started shooting and heading down to meet the robots, unloading on any soldiers unlucky enough to look at them. They were close to the base when the front door exploded, Zer0 clones as well as their friends running out and firing at the Vladof soldiers. The group exiting the building were lucky enough to have the robots as cover, the machines giving them covering fire as well as cover themselves. Angel stopped running and turned back, realizing that she forgot about Zach and Krystal.

Luckily, when she turned she saw Krystal and Zach limping out of the entrance they made, Zach leaning on Krystal for support.

"Lydia! Lead the clones to safety! I'm going to help Krystal and Zach!" Angel shouted as she headed back to help her brother. Lydia nodded and continued pressing on. Angel fell back, unloading her infinity pistol on any soldiers that even seemed like they would get in her way. One soldier tossed his rifle in the air as Angel unloaded into him, Angel holstering her pistol and catching the rifle. After a few more shots from Angel's rifle, she caught up with Krystal, taking Zach's other side so they were basically carrying him.

Their pace quickened as they crossed back through the warzone, smoke rising from the destroyed vehicle patrols and rocket launcher craters. Two robots broke away from the fighting and took Zack from the girls, picking up the pace significantly. They moved to the large group's defensive position, two destroyed vehicles that acted as cover. Angel, Krystal and the robots with Zach joined the group, adding to the defense. The remaining robots moved to the cover, but stood outside of it, acting as a moving wall.

After a minute of fighting, a large drop ship honked in the distance, coming towards their cover.

"That's our getaway ship! Let's go everyone!" Claptrap cheered as he rolled over to Zver and jumped onto his back. "OWARD MY TRUSTY STEED! ARIBA ARIBA!"

Everyone started hauling to the drop ship as it landed, Nickoli the first to jump in. He went to the driver, only to discover something far from ordinary. It looked like a golden skeleton with a Loader Bot eye for the head.

"What the!?" Nickoli cursed a bit, a tad surprised by the driver. "Did… Rhys send you?"

"Yes, he did." The driving robot responded in the voice of a Loader Bot. The ship waited for everyone to jump in, Zack being hauled on by the robots. Krystal took a seat next to Zach, leaning him on her for support.

"You look like shit bro… but you're safe now." Angel chuckled and then sighed. As soon as she finished her statement, a bullet flew past her, grazing her arm. She turned back to see the torturer, holding her bloodstained gut, clearly on her last leg of life.

"You aren't… taking my bitch… from me…" She coughed and cursed as she trained her gun on Zach, ready to end him. She seemed like she was about to speak, when her head suddenly vanished in a spray of bullets. Angel looked back to see Zach holding her Infinity pistol, very weakly though.

"Now… you're my bitch…" Zach grumbled weakly as he dropped his arm and the pistol. The two robots shut the doors as Krystal slowly moved Zach to the medical stretcher that was provided in the dropship. The dropship took off, leaving the sounds of gunfire and explosions far behind them. Angel took a deep breath and sighed in relief as she took a seat next to Nickoli.

"We got your brother back." Nickoli sighed in relief as he wrapped an arm around Angel's shoulders. Angel looked around, seeing Justin drool over the robots like a kid on Christmas as well as Patrick slumped into a corner, snoring his throat sore.

"Driver, take us to Concordia. We need to get my brother some medical attention." Angel called out, feeling her own eyes get heavy.

"Affirmative. I could use a copilot, if there are any volunteers." The driver replied. Lydia was the first to step up, moving to the copilot's seat. Claptrap started doing a victory dance to everyone's amusement, although it was more amusing to watch Zver join in, bobbing his head to Claptrap's self provided music.

"Come on Angel, get some sleep." Nickoli urged shaking her shoulder a bit. She rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Exhaustion and relief flooded over her, letting pass out almost instantly.

 **A/N:** There you have it! Zach is out of prison and everyone is happy! Will it last? Find out next chapter! PM for any questions comments or concerns. Until next time!

-Chief


End file.
